Delegates to Pig & Poultry LIVE, organised by the Royal Agricultural Society of England, will hear ideas and solutions to address this issue, voted as one of the top 5 most important factors facing the industry in a survey led by event partners ABN.

Speakers at the expanded event, staged at Stoneleigh Park in Warwickshire on 15 May 2013 will also offer their advice on how to retain, motivate and reward staff during an afternoon session entitled ‘Innovation in people, securing our future’.

David Yiend, AB Agri chief executive and one of the speakers, said: "There are enjoyable and rewarding career options in the pig and poultry sectors and we need to demonstrate to young people that this is an exciting industry to work in."

"Agriculture needs to recruit 60,000 new entrants over the next decade and we will only achieve that if we help ourselves by being positive about pig and poultry production."

"This debate is vital to the sustainability and profitability of British food and farming, we can’t assume this issue will be resolved by someone else and if we want to secure talent for our own businesses and for others in the supply chain we need to decide; what can I do? What role can I play? And take actions to tackle this challenge head on."

"Agriculture is perceived as being boring, uninteresting and low-skilled, when in fact the opposite is true. The industry is filled with entrepreneurial people who are great at running businesses."

"There are career opportunities for all abilities and all interests, particularly in the science and technology sectors where we run the risk of facing a gap in new ideas and technologies."

Mr Yiend urged everyone from across the supply chain to get involved with schemes like Brightcrop, a new industry initiative aiming to attract school pupils to agricultural careers, by becoming ambassadors for the industry.

"We need pig and poultry producers, and supply chain companies to talk to pupils, careers advisors and parents about how rewarding careers in the sector can be," he said.

"If we can take action and be positive about the future, people will want to be part of it. That’s why this discussion at Pig & Poultry LIVE is so important."

Other speakers in the afternoon will include John Ryan, chief executive of Great Place to Work ®, who will share his experience of the journey other organisations have made, how they went about it and what the results were.

"Creating a great place to work doesn't have to be about offering fantastic salaries or great benefits, it’s about creating a place of work people can be proud of."

"Trusting staff and proving they are core to the business will encourage innovation and inspire them to maximize their contribution to the business day to day," said Mr Ryan.

"Think about how you can work together. Do you tell staff about targets for production so that everyone is focused, or share concerns so they feel part of the final goal?"

- Pig & Poultry LIVE will give pig producers the opportunity to discuss a range of issues relating to people and how some creative thinking can help drive their business and the industry forward to a competitive and profitable future.

The event promises to provide practical and valuable solutions to the challenges we all face around people - whether that’s finding the right talent or motivating the people you already have.

For more information and to book a place, please click here.