Second performance award for Foston Lane

A turkey breeding farm producing poults for the UK’s second largest turkey supplier, Cranberry Foods, has won its second “outstanding breeder performance award” this year.

Cranberry-owned Foston Lane turkey breeder farm near Driffield, North Humberside, picked up the award from Aviagen Turkeys in recognition of its top results with Aviagen B.U.T. 8 birds in the past 12 months.

The farm produced 128 settable eggs per breeder bird placed over 24 weeks of production, compared with the B.U.T. 8 goal of 124 eggs. Actual hatchability was 85.94% and the farm went on to yield 110 day-old poults, against a B.U.T. 8 target of 104 day-old poults.

Aviagen Turkeys sales and marketing director, Richard Hutchinson, said he was impressed with the overall performance of B.U.T. stock within Cranberry Foods.

“The collection of performance data is a vital tool in the enhancement of existing and the development of new products, so we are delighted that Cranberry Foods are supporting us in this,” he said.

Foston Lane manager David Johnson picked up a similar award in March for his top Hybrid Grader Marker parent flock from Hybrid Turkeys, a division of Hendrix Genetics.

Cranberry Foods is the second largest producer of turkeys in the UK, with a turnover of £96m. It employs 650 people and has 72 farms and one hatchery.

Aviagen Turkeys is the leading supplier of turkey breeding stock worldwide, supporting the B.U.T. and Nicholas brands.