The winner, who will be announced at the British Poultry Council awards presentations at the House of Commons on Tuesday December 5, receives a £2000 training grant from Zoetis and a £500 cash prize from the magazine Poultry World.

Samantha Alexander had a passion for animals as a child and at 16 began an egg collecting job in Maybole, near Ayr. Now she runs a pullet rearing unit for Heal Eggs at Shawbury, near Shrewsbury, where her employer Tony Heal said: “She has produced flock after flock of some of the finest pullets I’ve ever seen which has in turn had a significant impact on our egg laying performance.”

Klaudia Roszkowska came to the UK from Poland 12 years ago to seek a new lifestyle and career opportunities and in 2010 joined Cargill Meats Europe as chick process team leader at its Shobdon hatchery, managing a team supplying some 1.6 million broilers a week. She is now technical incubationist, a new position where hatcheries manager Phil Harris said that two years on they were reaping the rewards of this investment through improved results.

Warren Knights began working on the Bright family’s broiler growing farm at Mileham in Norfolk in May last year. Four months later Tim Bright became ill and Warren worked tirelessly with Tim’s wife Sue to keep the farm going. “Without Warren, we would have had to shut the farm until I recovered enough to start again,” said Mr Bright. Warren’s training is provided by Poultec who nominated him for two awards in the summer.

The training grant can be used in many ways. The 2013 winner Nicholas Ham used the money to help finance an MSc in applied poultry science at Scotland Rural College which he has almost completed. Now Area Manager for Cargill looking after broiler breeder rearing farms, he said the course developed deeper into areas of poultry beyond his day-to-day work and really broadened his knowledge. He added: “I am very grateful for this opportunity, and hope that all young people with a similar passion are rewarded for their determination and hard work.”

About Zoetis
Zoetis is the leading animal health company, dedicated to supporting its customers and their businesses. Building on more than 60 years of experience in animal health, Zoetis discovers, develops, manufactures and markets veterinary vaccines and medicines, complemented by diagnostic products, genetic tests, biodevices and a range of services. Zoetis serves veterinarians, livestock producers and people who raise and care for farm and companion animals with sales of its products in more than 100 countries. In 2016, the company generated annual revenue of $4.9 billion with approximately 9,000 employees. For more information, visit www.zoetis.com