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Two young workers progressing to management on a Midlands outdoor pig unit and on a Suffolk duck farm are the winners of the 2011 Pfizer Trainees of the Year Awards.
The pig award goes to Christopher Rose from Worksop in Nottinghamshire who is now assistant manager on an 850-sow weaner production farm. The poultry winner is James Newman who manages a large duck rearing unit near Woodbridge, Suffolk.
The awards, which each include a £2000 training grant, were presented by the Farming Minister, the Rt Hon Jim Paice, at a ceremony at the House of Commons on November 1.
The awards, now in their fifth year, are sponsored by Pfizer Animal Health in conjunction with the journals Pig World and Poultry World, recognising enthusiasm and commitment to training in helping producers to meet the exacting standards of the retail market as well as developing individual careers.
It is also the 10th year that Pfizer has sponsored a pig training award, initially given to producers within the Agskills group.
Christopher Rose has worked on large outdoor units for LKL Farming for the past three years. He is working towards completing his Certificates of Competence at Level 2 in 2012 and is a member of the Pig Industry’s Professional Register, which he plans to use in providing structure to his on-going training. His ambition is to set up his own outdoor pig unit taking pigs from start to finish.
The three judges — Richard Longthorp, chairman of Lantra England, industry consultant Gerry Brent and Dr Dan Tucker, of Cambridge University school of Veterinary Medicine — said they were seeking some strong connection between training and its successful application on farm.
“This was where Chris Rose was really able to impress,” stated the judges. “The increased understanding he had gained from both in-service and off-site training had increased his understanding of the need to establish and then rigorously apply sound routines. The prime example given has helped to underwrite a truly impressive farrowing rate on his unit that most in the industry would be proud to emulate.”
The winner of the Pfizer Poultry Trainee of the Year was chosen for the first time by a judging panel — rather than readers’ votes - comprising John Newton, senior poultry consultant of ADAS, Phil Clarke, editor of Poultry World, and James Porritt, national poultry manager of Pfizer.
They were impressed by the way James Newman had taken a wide range of courses while working for Green Label Farms, building on the NVQ Level 3 in poultry production he had gained as top student of the year at Easton College in Norfolk in 2005.
He had detailed knowledge of the Green Label Farms duck and goose units he had worked on, and had brought his training back to the workplace to share with others at one of the company’s largest units often used as a showpiece for visitors.
The judges stated: “James has a clear vision of where he wants to be in the medium term — helping to co-ordinate the contract farms for Green Label — and how he could get there with further training in staff management.”
Runner-ups for the pig award are Catherine O’Dell, who has experience of an outdoor nucleus herd and indoor production with JSR Farms at Southburn, Driffield, East Yorkshire, and Emily Ward, who moved from a city background to work on an outdoor unit run by Packington Pork at Barton under Needwood, Staffordshire.
Runners-up for the poultry award are Warren Gittoes, who works on Joff and Emma Roberts’ Uphampton Farm, Shobdon, rearing broiler chickens for Cargill Meats, and Michael Kilby, who has been selected for a management trainee programme at P D Hook’s hatchery at Cote, Oxfordshire, one of Europe’s largest hatcheries.
01.11.11 - Pfizer Animal Health
