Zoetis: Krzysztof Knebloch wins Zoetis-NFU Poultry Trainee Award
The award recognizes talented rising professionals in the poultry field
4 June 2026
1 minute read
By: Krzysztof Knebloch who came to the UK from Poland and has worked in the UK poultry industry for 11 years is the winner of the Zoetis-NFU Poultry Trainee Award presented at the British Pig & Poultry Fair at NEC Birmingham.
From an early age he developed a love for working with animals. After moving to England at the age of 19, he initially worked in a factory while studying at college. He kept a few chickens and ducks in the backyard for fresh eggs, which reignited his passion for working with birds and reminded him how much he enjoyed farm life during school holidays in Poland.
At 24, he began working on a poultry farm as assistant farm manager and gained experience across rearing farms, laying farms and broilers.
He joined Forest Poultry at Alne in north Yorkshire in 2019. “From the moment of joining us as farm manager Krzysztof made it his mission to learn all about the farm inside and out, optimizing performance,” says his employer Tom Ford. “He has since taken this mindset to all farms in his new role as area manager.”
He plans to enroll on a poultry nutrition course at Harper Adams University. He states: “My long-term goal is to specialize in broiler nutrition as I believe that high-quality nutrition is one of the biggest drivers of good growth, strong performance and overall bird welfare.” He would put the Zoetis-sponsored £1000 training grant towards this course.
The runners-up for the award are:
- Blake Cook, of Nantwich, Cheshire, who began working part-time for Aviagen Turkeys while still at school more than four years ago and took up an apprenticeship, quickly impressing both his employer and Poultec training provider.
- Murray Preston, of New Ollerton, Newark, had his eyes opened to a career in poultry five years ago while working on a ventilation project on a broiler farm. He started with 2Agriculture and is now an area manager.
All three now look forward to taking part in the Egg & Poultry Industry Conference with two nights’ accommodation at the Celtic Manor Hotel, Newport, South Wales, in November – as sponsored jointly by Zoetis and EPIC.
