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06/09/2010 12:18:30
Paice to speak at EPIC Conference
The Egg & Poultry Industry Conference will take place on November 7 and 8 and new Agriculture Minister Jim Paice will be amongst the speakers.
Mr Paice, who has been the Conservative MP for South East Cambridgeshire since 1987, was appointed to the agriculture post on the formation of the coalition Government following this year’s General Election.
His speech to the conference will be entitled ’A Perspective from Government.’ By the time he delivers it, we are likely to know much more about how his department intends to contribute to the Government’s efforts to reduce the country’s huge economic deficit.
The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is cutting £162 million in the current financial year by limiting recruitment and reducing the number of non-permanent staff, IT efficiencies and cuts to rural development agencies.
But Government departments are currently looking for much bigger cuts – an average of 25 per cent, which would amount to £725 million being sliced from Defra’s 2.9 billion budget – and where the cuts will fall is expected to be outlined with the announcement of the Government’s spending review in October.
Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman has indicated that some of the 87 quangos associated with the department will be targeted. Defra has already announced the abolition of the Agricultural Wages Board for England and Wales and the Government has said it intends to reduce the regulatory burden of farmers.
Jim Paice has a lifelong involvement with farming. He was an active member of the Young Farmers movement, and represented the UK on the European Council of Young Farmers for four years. He was a member of the Suffolk Coastal District Council between 1976 and 1987, becoming the chairman in 1983. Before joining the Government, he was twice the opposition spokesman for Agriculture and Rural Affairs.
Other speakers will include Sion Roberts, a founding director and now chief executive of agrifood business consultancy English Farming and Food Partnerships (EFFP). Sion trained as an economist and has been involved for 20 years in analysing major strategic issues across the farming and food industry.
He started his career as a commodity trader before becoming chief economist at the NFU. He subsequently worked for the Cabinet Office as the economic adviser to the Policy Commission on the Future of Farming and Food (Curry Commission). He was also a member of the Agricultural Wages Board for five years and is currently a director of the Oxford Farming Conference.
As director of food and consumer policy at the British Retail Consortium, Andrew Opie heads up the food and consumer policy team. This team covers a wide range of regulatory and policy issues, including food legislation, food safety, the role of supermarkets, distance selling and consumer law and enforcement. Andrew, who was previously head of policy services at the NFU, will offer those who attend the conference a retail perspective, whilst Steve Ellwood, head of food and agriculture at Smith & Williamson Corporate Finance will offer a financial view.
Steve leads and develops the firm’s position in the food and agriculture sector and is adviser to a number of businesses. He joined the firm in 2008 from HSBC Bank, where he spent ten years as head of agriculture. He has 30 years’ experience as a specialist banker in the food and agriculture sector.
Nick Kidd of Astrantia Management Ltd will offer a business perspective.
Conference visitors will also hear from farmer and presenter of BBC television’s Countryfile programme, Adam Henson, as well as from Richard Irvine, the deputy head of the avian virology and mammalian influenza group and EU/OIE/FAO International Reference Laboratory for Avian Influenza & Newcastle disease at the Veterinary Laboratories Agency (VLA) in Weybridge.
Prof Sir Colin Spedding will give a speech entitled ’Leading the Way to Success - a Visionary Perspective’. Sir Colin retired as pro-vice-chancellor and director of the Centre for Agricultural Strategy (CAS) in 1990.
He chaired the board of the Science Council from 1994-2000, the Farm Animal Welfare Council (FAWC) from 1988-1998, the UK Register of Organic Food Standards (UKROFS) from 1987-1999, the Apple and Pear Research Council (APRC) from 1989-1997 and the Poultry Sector Board (PSB) of Assured Food Standards. He was also special scientific adviser to the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) 2003-2009, a member of the People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals (PDSA) council of management (he was deputy chairman 1996-2003), adviser to the Companion Animal Welfare Council (CAWC), chairman of the Farm Animal Welfare Trust (FAWT),vice-president of the RSPCA, patron of the Family Farmers Association and patron of Land Heritage.
This year’s Egg and Poultry Industry Conference will take as its theme ’Leading the Way to Success.’ Conference chairman is James W Hook, managing director of P D Hook (Hatcheries) Ltd and the conference president is Andrew Parker, chairman the British Egg Industry Council.
John Cessford, the chairman of the conference organising committee, says the event has gone from strength the strength in recent years, with delegate registrations increasing year on year. He says there has been a 25 per cent increase in industry participants over the last five years, together with a 30 per cent increase in the numbers of people attending the conference banquet.
As well as providing a forum for those involved in the egg and poultry industry, the conference will also provide the occasion for announcement of the BPC/BOCM Pauls poultry man or woman of the year. Last year the award was presented to retiring BFREPA chairman Tom Vesey.
The conference will take place at the Forest of Arden Marriott Hotel & Country Club. The address is Maxtoke Lane, Meriden, Birmingham, CV7 7HR. Anyone interested in booking a place at the conference should visit the conference site at http://www.epiconference.co.uk.
Mr Paice, who has been the Conservative MP for South East Cambridgeshire since 1987, was appointed to the agriculture post on the formation of the coalition Government following this year’s General Election.
His speech to the conference will be entitled ’A Perspective from Government.’ By the time he delivers it, we are likely to know much more about how his department intends to contribute to the Government’s efforts to reduce the country’s huge economic deficit.
The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is cutting £162 million in the current financial year by limiting recruitment and reducing the number of non-permanent staff, IT efficiencies and cuts to rural development agencies.
But Government departments are currently looking for much bigger cuts – an average of 25 per cent, which would amount to £725 million being sliced from Defra’s 2.9 billion budget – and where the cuts will fall is expected to be outlined with the announcement of the Government’s spending review in October.
Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman has indicated that some of the 87 quangos associated with the department will be targeted. Defra has already announced the abolition of the Agricultural Wages Board for England and Wales and the Government has said it intends to reduce the regulatory burden of farmers.
Jim Paice has a lifelong involvement with farming. He was an active member of the Young Farmers movement, and represented the UK on the European Council of Young Farmers for four years. He was a member of the Suffolk Coastal District Council between 1976 and 1987, becoming the chairman in 1983. Before joining the Government, he was twice the opposition spokesman for Agriculture and Rural Affairs.
Other speakers will include Sion Roberts, a founding director and now chief executive of agrifood business consultancy English Farming and Food Partnerships (EFFP). Sion trained as an economist and has been involved for 20 years in analysing major strategic issues across the farming and food industry.
He started his career as a commodity trader before becoming chief economist at the NFU. He subsequently worked for the Cabinet Office as the economic adviser to the Policy Commission on the Future of Farming and Food (Curry Commission). He was also a member of the Agricultural Wages Board for five years and is currently a director of the Oxford Farming Conference.
As director of food and consumer policy at the British Retail Consortium, Andrew Opie heads up the food and consumer policy team. This team covers a wide range of regulatory and policy issues, including food legislation, food safety, the role of supermarkets, distance selling and consumer law and enforcement. Andrew, who was previously head of policy services at the NFU, will offer those who attend the conference a retail perspective, whilst Steve Ellwood, head of food and agriculture at Smith & Williamson Corporate Finance will offer a financial view.
Steve leads and develops the firm’s position in the food and agriculture sector and is adviser to a number of businesses. He joined the firm in 2008 from HSBC Bank, where he spent ten years as head of agriculture. He has 30 years’ experience as a specialist banker in the food and agriculture sector.
Nick Kidd of Astrantia Management Ltd will offer a business perspective.
Conference visitors will also hear from farmer and presenter of BBC television’s Countryfile programme, Adam Henson, as well as from Richard Irvine, the deputy head of the avian virology and mammalian influenza group and EU/OIE/FAO International Reference Laboratory for Avian Influenza & Newcastle disease at the Veterinary Laboratories Agency (VLA) in Weybridge.
Prof Sir Colin Spedding will give a speech entitled ’Leading the Way to Success - a Visionary Perspective’. Sir Colin retired as pro-vice-chancellor and director of the Centre for Agricultural Strategy (CAS) in 1990.
He chaired the board of the Science Council from 1994-2000, the Farm Animal Welfare Council (FAWC) from 1988-1998, the UK Register of Organic Food Standards (UKROFS) from 1987-1999, the Apple and Pear Research Council (APRC) from 1989-1997 and the Poultry Sector Board (PSB) of Assured Food Standards. He was also special scientific adviser to the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) 2003-2009, a member of the People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals (PDSA) council of management (he was deputy chairman 1996-2003), adviser to the Companion Animal Welfare Council (CAWC), chairman of the Farm Animal Welfare Trust (FAWT),vice-president of the RSPCA, patron of the Family Farmers Association and patron of Land Heritage.
This year’s Egg and Poultry Industry Conference will take as its theme ’Leading the Way to Success.’ Conference chairman is James W Hook, managing director of P D Hook (Hatcheries) Ltd and the conference president is Andrew Parker, chairman the British Egg Industry Council.
John Cessford, the chairman of the conference organising committee, says the event has gone from strength the strength in recent years, with delegate registrations increasing year on year. He says there has been a 25 per cent increase in industry participants over the last five years, together with a 30 per cent increase in the numbers of people attending the conference banquet.
As well as providing a forum for those involved in the egg and poultry industry, the conference will also provide the occasion for announcement of the BPC/BOCM Pauls poultry man or woman of the year. Last year the award was presented to retiring BFREPA chairman Tom Vesey.
The conference will take place at the Forest of Arden Marriott Hotel & Country Club. The address is Maxtoke Lane, Meriden, Birmingham, CV7 7HR. Anyone interested in booking a place at the conference should visit the conference site at http://www.epiconference.co.uk.
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