2000 to 2009 | EPIC - Egg and Poultry Industry Conference

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2000s

2000 Commercial Broilers 809 million, Commercial Layers 32 million, Turkeys 27 million, Broiler Breeders 6.2 million
2000 Deans Foods acquire Daylay Foods with involvement in egg marketing, egg production, feed milling, egg products and hen processing
2000 Council Regulation (EC) No 1804/1999 comes into effect defining common rules for livestock husbandry for the first time
2000 Huvepharma (Human and Veterinary Pharmaceuticals) is established in 2000, after the acquisition of the Biovet production plant in Bulgaria
2000 Cobb acquires Avian Farms breeding stock and facilities
2000 Faccenda Group purchase Webbs Country Foods
2000 Hy-Line UK open the Millennium hatchery, initial capacity 12 million chicks increasing to 21.5 per annum, and 1 million parent stock
2000 Ross introduces multi-environment selection for robustness, furthering global growth into different markets and environments
2000 Poultry First leaves Hillsdown Holdings in a management buyout
2000 Holly Berry Hatcheries open new hatchery in Langworth. Lincolnshire
2000 Manor Farm Ducklings win Queens Award for Exports
2000 Buxted now renamed Premier Poultry is sold to 2 Sisters Food Group
2000 First Poultry Industry Golf Competition is held at Woodhall Spa
2000 PD Hook acquire the Hillsdown hatcheries and breeding operation taking control over hatcheries at Great Yarmouth, Dalton & Gunness
2000 2 Sisters acquire sites at Scunthorpe & Flixton from Hillsdown. This acquisition is significant as it meant that the group will move from a poultry meat cutting operation to a primary producer
2000 Brandons Turkeys Ltd acquire Sun Valley Turkeys
2000 John Campbell receives an OBE for services to the Poultry Industry
2000 Assured Chicken Production scheme is launched
2000 BEIC reintroduces the Lion Quality mark in January including best before date onto shells of all Lion eggs
2000 Poultry Person of the year: Mr David Joll (right)
2001 Commercial Broilers 830 million, Commercial Layers 31 million, Turkeys 26 million, Broiler Breeders 6.7 million
2001 2 Sisters open a packing operation in the West Midlands (Site C)
2001 The British Poultry Meat Federation changes its name to the British Poultry Council
2001 Thames Valley Eggs & Stonegate merge including the 50% share of Thames Valley Countryside
2001 Aviagen Limited and Aviagen Inc. are formed as the trading companies for the Ross, Arbor Acres and Indian River brands worldwide
2001 Brandons Turkeys Ltd becomes Brandons PLC
2001 Fort Dodge announce new Infectious Bronchitis vaccine (IBMM+ARK)
2001 Intervet announce new combined Salmonella Enteritidis/Typhimurium Vaccine (Salenvac T)
2001 2000 major outbreaks of Foot & Mouth disease hit the UK
2001 First live Salmonella vaccine is introduced to the UK market
2001 Waitrose ends sale of cage shell eggs
2001 Jack Diaper founder of Diaper & Sons Poultry dies
2001 Grampian Country food Group close their Garstang chicken processing plant
2001 Poultry Person of the year: Mr Jack Schipper
2002 Poultry Industry Conference becomes EPIC (Egg & Poultry Industry Conference)
2002 Stonegate purchase the remaining 50% of Thames Valley Countryside most of which is sold on to Deans Foods on the same day
2002 Mayfield Hatchery fire kills an estimated 3 million chicks
2002 Deans launches Big & Fresh, establishing the largest cage egg brand
2002 Commercial Broilers 824 million, Commercial Layers 31 million, Turkeys 24 million, Broiler Breeders 6.7 million
2002 Andrew Parker receives an OBE for services to the egg industry
2002 Grampian purchase Golden Foods International in Thailand
2002 Poultry Person of the year: Mr Fred Duncan
2003 Commercial Broilers 853 million, Commercial Layers 31 million, Turkeys 23 million, Broiler Breeders 6.8 million
2003 Deans buys Freshlay
2003 Roche becomes DSM
2003 Pfizer acquires Pharmacia becoming a global provider of animal health products, speciality products and diagnostics
2003 Aviagen is acquired by Advent International
2003 Widespread avian influenza outbreaks cause significant disruption to the EU egg market generating new protocols throughout the EU for the surveillance and containment procedures for future outbreaks.
2003 Ross introduce Lifetime FCR selection using pioneering feed station technology
2003 Poultry Person of the year: Mr Andrew Joret (right)
2004 Commercial Broilers 866 million, Commercial Layers 33 million, Turkeys 23 million, Broiler Breeders 6.6 million
2004 Grampian Country Foods close the Fresh Chicken plant at Uckfield
2004 PD Hook acquire Ross Poultry’s Worcester and Thornhill operations
2004 PD Hook (Hatcheries) supplies its 1 billionth chick to one of its very first customers – Robert Phipps
2004 Hy-Line UK become the first hatchery to introduce and trial infrared beak treatment in cooperation with the RSPCA
2004 Poultry Person of the year: Dr Cliff Nixey
2005 Commercial Broilers 857 million, Commercial Layers 30 million, Turkeys 20 million, Broiler Breeders 6.3 million
2005 Aviagen is acquired by the EW Group
2005 CEVA acquires Biomune a vector vaccine development company
2005 Anicon founded
2005 Col Uvedale Corbett founder of Sun Valley & President of the British Poultry Federation dies
2005 Huvepharma acquire Intervet’s global feed additives business
2005 2 Sisters purchase the Haughley Park site near Stowmarket previously run by John Rannoch Ltd, this allows the business to manufacture cooked & breaded poultry
2005 2 Sisters opens a packing operation in the West Midlands (Site D)
2005 Outbreak of Newcastle disease is confirmed in a pheasant flock in Hampshire (July)
2005 Birds across Europe are kept indoors as a precaution after a parrot that died in quarantine in October in the UK tested positive for a highly pathogenic H5N1 strain of avian flu
2005 First Poultry Meat Conference (Chicken 2005) is held at Stoneleigh
2005 British United Turkeys is bought by Aviagen from Merial
2005 Hendrix announce purchase of ISA
2005 The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs announces the setting up of a poultry register to boost government and industry’s ability to tackle outbreaks of avian influenza
2005 Lloyd Maunder purchases Dewhurst, the UK High St chain of butcher shops
2005 Hubbard is acquired by Groupe Grimaud creating the 2nd largest multi species animal breeding company in the world
2005 Poultry Person of the year: Mr Peter Dean
2006 Commercial Broilers 851 million, Commercial Layers 30 million, Turkey 17 million, Broiler Breeders 6.4 million
2006 Deans and Stonegate merge to form Noble Foods. The merger is referred to the then Competition Committee (now the CMA) and the outcome is an order for the reversal of the merger. Stonegate is eventually sold in 2008. The name Noble Foods is retained for what is essentially the old Deans company
2006 DSM launch the Broiler Colour Fan
2006 Hy-Line UK become the first layer chick hatchery to use the Nova-Tech beak treatment and vaccination machine on a full scale basis
2006 Natural light is required for Freedom Food ducks
2006 Average genetic growth rate potential of Freedom Food chickens is limited to 45g per day
2006 Tesco launch “Willow Farm” chickens (June). Waitrose launch equivalent standard plus line (September)
2006 EU wide ban on all Antibiotic Growth Promoters
2006 A swan is found dead in Scotland and tested positive for the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu. The bird, is tested at the EU’s bird flu laboratory in Surrey, and is the UK’s first case of H5N1 in a wild bird
2006 Dr David Sainsbury, poultry veterinarian dies
2006 Howard Hellig, poultry veterinarian and entrepreneur dies
2006 Outbreak of Newcastle disease in grey partridge flock in East Lothian
2006 BVPA celebrates its 50th Anniversary
2006 Poultry Person of the year: Mr Charles Bourns (right)
2007 Commercial Broilers 842 million, Commercial Layers 31 million, Turkeys 16 million, Broiler Breeders 6.7 million
2007 Schering Plough acquires Organon Bioscience (Intervet and Organon). The animal health division operates as intervet/Schering Plough Animal Health
2007 Pfizer (Zoetis) Introduce the Poultry Trainee of the year award (right)
2007 Quality British Turkey enters the Red Tractor Assurance Scheme (right)
2007 PD Hook 2 Sisters Food Group acquires Lloyd Maunder binging total production to 5 million chicks a week
2007 St Ewe Free Range Eggs is formed in Cornwall to meet the demand for regional products by the supermarkets
2007 Hendrix Genetics acquires Euribrid (including Hybrid Turkeys), the animal breeding division of Nutreco.
2007 Freedom Food prohibit beak trimming for indoor-reared Freedom Food turkeys
2007 Freedom Food require foot pad dermatitis monitoring for Freedom Food turkeys
2007 Marks and Spencer launch “Oakham” chicken (May). The Co-operative launch “Elmwood” chicken (Sept)
2007 Huvepharma acquire the Merial anticoccidial range and production site in St Louis, USA
2007 Pfizer acquires Embrex (in-ovo technology) (right)
2007 H5N1 HPAI is confirmed at a Bernard Matthews turkey farm in Holton, Suffolk
2007 2 Sisters makes a number of acquisitions – including Joseph Mitchell (Letham) of Forfar, Challenger Foods of Sunderland and the Tulip facility in Morecambe
2007 Cobb purchases the Hybro breed and their Herveld research facility in the Netherlands to become the focal point of pedigree breeding for the European market
2007 H5N1 HPAI is confirmed in free range turkeys in Norfolk
2007 Paul Kelly wins Rupert Chalmers Award for Outstanding Contribution and Commitment to the Turkey industry
2007 EPIC moves from The Hilton Blackpool to Forest of Arden
2007 Poultry Person of the year: Dr. Trefor Campbell CBE
2008 Commercial Broilers 828 million, Commercial Layers 31 million, Turkeys 17 million, Broiler Breeders 6.7 million
2008 Cobb acquire Avian lines
2008 H7 HPAI Avian Influenza outbreak in Banbury, Oxfordshire
2008 CEVA acquires Desvac a producer of vaccination equipment
2008 The Co-operative ends sale of shell cage eggs
2008 Anitox launches Maxi-Mil in response to independent research linking poor pellet quality & fines with a significant loss in bird performance.
2008 JF McKenna becomes a supplier for Lubing UK and Ireland
2008 Waitrose ends use of cage egg ingredients in own brand products
2008 Freedom Food require foot pad monitoring and recording for Freedom Food chickens
2008 Premier Nutrition becomes part of AB Agri
2008 Stonegate Food Ingredients, Freshfayre Products and Parker Foods all cease trading
2008 Poultry Person of the year: Mr Eric Reid
2008 The world record fastest time to pluck three turkeys is 11 min 30.16 sec is achieved by Paul Kelly of Kelly Turkeys, at Little Claydon Farm, Essex, United Kingdom, on 13 November 2008. This was attempted as part of Gordon Ramsay’s Cookalong show and Paul went head to head against Gordon Ramsay who plucked three turkeys in 11 min 31.78 sec. Source: Guinness Book of Records
2009 All eggs from flocks of laying hens, not monitored for the presence of Salmonella or found positive to Salmonella Enteritidis or Salmonella Typhimurium, cannot be sold as table eggs but must be processed as egg products and pasteurised in order to eliminate all risks for consumers
2009 The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) publishes a new Code of Practice for the control of salmonella in animal feeds, bringing together three previous codes and updating these with current best practice and regulatory details. The new code is entitled Code of Practice for the Control of Salmonella during the Production, Storage and Transport of Compound Feeds, Pre-mixtures, Feed Materials and Feed Additives
2009 Council Regulation (EC) No 834/2007 and Commission Regulation (EC) No 889/2008 comes into effect overhauling the legal framework and implementing rules for organic farming
2009 Sainsbury’s ends sale of cage shell eggs
2009 Pfizer acquires Wyeth’s Fort Dodge giving Pfizer the Poulvac range of poultry vaccines
2009 The Co-operative launches “Elmwood” turkey
2009 Freedom Food require foot pad monitoring and recording for Freedom Food ducks
2009 Hockenhull Turkeys re-enter the market as a producer and seller of premium quality turkey poults solely for the UK’s Traditional Farm Fresh market
2009 Commercial Broilers 844 million, Commercial Layers 34 million of which free range = 5.5 million, Turkeys 16 million, Broiler Breeders 6.6 million
2009 Cobb acquires the Kabir slow growing, coloured breed and collaborates with the French Sasso company to develop Cobb Sasso lines of slow growing broilers
2009 With reported deaths of human patients in Egypt & China from the virus causing highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), the World Health Organization (WHO) updates its table on confirmed human cases of the H5N1 virus. The number of cases since 2003 now stands at 404, 254 of whom have died
2009 Noble Foods launch the Happy Egg Co. brand (right). Eventually becoming the largest Free Range brand on the UK market
2009 Global poultry breeder Hendrix Genetics is to acquire UK Joice & Hill in a deal to be completed by January 2010. Joice and Hill currently operates a 10 million chick hatchery at Eye in Peterborough supplying hatching eggs for the laying sector, products include the Bovans Goldline, Babcock Brown and Bovans Amberlink. Hatching eggs are exclusively produced on company farms in Cambridgeshire and Norfolk
2009 The Organising Committee for the Olympic games makes an announcement during the launch of its ”Food Vision” under its aim to provide the most sustainable games, that UK egg and poultry farmers are set to play a major role at the London 2012 Olympic games with Lion free range eggs and Red Tractor poultry meat set to feature on menus (right)
2009 Sainsbury’s announces that it is to become the first major retailer to stop selling eggs from battery hens
2009 Merck acquires Schering Plough and Intervet/Schering Plough Animal Health (SPAH) become the animal health division of Merck
2009 Sanofi acquires Merck’s 50% stake in Merial. Merial become the animal health division of Sanofi
2009 The Millennium hatchery increases capacity to 24 million and installs heat recovery and energy management systems
2009 Poultry Person of the year: Mr. Tom Vesey
2009 The world record fastest time to carve a turkey is 3 min 19.47 sec and is achieved by Paul Kelly (right) of Kelly Turkeys at Little Claydon Farm, Essex, UK, on 3 June 2009. He went head-to-head against local butcher David Harrison at an event to celebrate the 25th birthday of KellyBronze turkeys. This is Paul’s second world record along with the fastest time to pluck three turkeys. Source: Guinness Book of Records