Past, present & future – Aviagen’s Stuart Thomson talks all things poultry

Aviagen’s regional technical manager (RTM) for UK and Scandinavia, Stuart Thomson chats about his career, customers and industry challenges for the future.

I started my career with Aviagen in February 1988 (then known as Ross Breeders) as a farm worker on a Pedigree Rearing farm that was managed by my father.

In all honesty it was just a stop gap until I figured out what to do with my life, little did I know that I would find it so interesting.

I worked there for approximately three years before transferring to Pedigree lay where I learned about the next stage of poultry production and just a couple of years later, I was appointed as assistant farm manager.

I think at this point I figured out what to do with my life.

In 2007 I left Pedigree to take up the position of GP production manager where I looked after a mix of company and contract GP farms.

This led me to giving flock management support to French and Swedish GP farmers.

It was providing the support to Sweden that ignited my passion for customer support, leading me on to my 2013 role when I became technical service manager for UK and Scandinavia.

I was part of this team for five years looking after PS and broiler customers before I was promoted to lead the team – a position I am still in today.

Most recently I have also been given the role of regional technical manager for North Europe.

In my current role I am responsible for managing the team of technical mangers for UK & Scandinavia (North Europe), I also have responsibility for managing the parent stock order book for the UK, working with customers on the timings of the deliveries of day-old chicks.

Our team has developed our approach to customer service with two dedicated technical mangers for breeders and another two focused on broilers.  

In addition to my role, I am also an RTM for Aviagen which means I am one of eight RTM’s positioned around the globe for Aviagen Chickens.

We meet regularly with R&D and key global heads (Veterinary, Nutrition, Incubation, Technical Systems, Technical Transfer, Welfare and Trials) where we discuss global performance, issues and future challenges.

Aviagen’s customer experience

Our team has the opportunity to work with customers to ensure optimal biological performance.

This is done in multiple ways such as working on key management inputs to maximise egg output for breeders or most efficient growth for broilers.

One of the most important parts of the team’s work is their focus on the health and welfare of the chickens which can lead to some of the best methods to improve the economics of poultry production resulting in healthy, happy chickens.

A big part of what we do relies on data and for that we work with our customers to utilise their own results and, through analysis, show them where the opportunities are.

Within that same dataset we get insight into the very best performance and to recognise this, we operate a number of events/clubs to award the people achieving these great results, and they really are fantastic results.

Recognising excellence

For breeders we run the Flock Awards. An annual event to celebrate flocks with outstanding results.

Acknowledging care, dedication and attention to detail in management to maximise genetic potential.

We bring our top-achieving farmers and hatchery managers together at an event where they get a chance to network with each other, experience some fun and engaging activities, before we recognise their efforts and achievements at our evening presentation dinner.

It’s amazing what comes out of these events – farmers sharing their own experiences means others are gaining little nuggets of information that will help move performance forward.

For broilers we have the 450 Club – this award recognises an EPEF of 450 or more, an elite club for the top 1% of UK broiler growers.

There are also Gold Awards – if you achieve 3 x 450 plus flocks in a row OR 10% EPEF over 450 = 495 or more.

We are excited to say the format of the 450 Club is moving to an annual event similar to our Flock Awards.

Stuart Thomson pictured at this year’s Flock Awards ceremony © Aviagen

One of the best parts of my role is the breadth of people I get to engage with. I’m really thankful for the number of individuals that make my job so rewarding and interesting.

I’m out there face-to-face with our customers but there are so many people who are key to what we do.

Without our amazing colleagues in the R&D department we wouldn’t have our fantastic balanced chicken, the Ross 308. It really is a superb bird at both breeder and broiler level.  

Sector challenges ahead

For me the biggest challenge facing us as a sector is welfare outcomes, which I fully support.

As the poultry sector, we should continuously strive to have the highest welfare. For me, this is where we, as a technical team, need to focus our attention.

If we get this part correct the biological outputs will follow.

There are other challenges though when looking at welfare, such as recent changes in stocking density.

The UK retailers are mainly moving to a maximum stocking density of 30kg/sq m by early 2025 with the aim of improving welfare elements.

However, there are challenges that come with this change, such as the requirement for more houses.

With the current planning application landscape, it is difficult to get permissions to build new farms.

If we don’t build any additional houses, we will produce approximately 20% less birds.

I don’t think the public will all of a sudden consume less chicken meat so we will be faced with a higher level of imports.

Meet the Technical Service team for UK and Scandinavia

We are always looking to the future and the talent and passion that we have, not only in our team but the entire business, which allows us to rise up to any challenge or opportunity that presents itself.

From left to right: Charles Ramsey, Stuart Thomson, Sean Harrison and Toby Arkell © Aviagen

Sean Harrison, Broiler Technical Services Manager for UK & Scandinavia

Sean joined Aviagen in October 2023. He has 11 years of farm manager experience, during which he won several of Aviagen’s accolades for outstanding stockmanship including the 400, 420, 440 and Gold Club awards.

Sean also attended Aviagen EMEAA School before joining the business.

He currently looks after customers based in the UK, Denmark and Sweden. He enjoys sharing his expertise to support and assist customers to increase both welfare and performance. 

Toby Arkell, Breeder Technical Services Manager for UK & Western Europe

Before joining Aviagen in 2022, Toby left college and became a gamekeeper on a large estate in Herefordshire.

From there he moved on to join one of the UK’s broiler integrators, with roles on breeder and broiler farms before becoming an area manager looking after both company and contract breeder farms.

Currently supporting the UK and Western Europe as a Technical Services manager focusing on parent stock, Toby enjoys working with my customers to help them overcome any challenges they may have.

In addition, Toby helps drive forward Aviagen’s yearly Flock Awards and Top 10% Breeder Recognition award, whilst also being part of internal working groups for our internal data management system and growing breed development.

Charles Ramsey, Breeder Technical Manager for UK & Scandinavia

Charles Ramsay is a seasoned broiler breeder technical manager with a rich background in animal science and farm management.

Joining Aviagen a year ago, Charles leverages over two decades of experience in the poultry industry to provide top-notch technical support to customers across the UK, Ireland, Finland, and Iceland.

Charles’s journey began with a degree in Animal Science from the University of Pretoria, completed in 2000.

His career in South Africa saw him excel as a breeder farm manager, where he gained extensive experience in rearing and laying, with a short foray into broiler production.

He also oversaw the planning and forecasting for an integrator for three years. Subsequently, he managed the Arbor Acres parent stock hatchery for two years, honing his expertise in hatchery operations.

Relocating to the UK in 2019, Charles served as an area manager, overseeing 36 contract breeder farms before stepping into his current role at Aviagen.

Hannu Tiuttu, Technical Commercial Manager for Finland

Joining Aviagen in 2013, Hannu brings a wealth of knowledge to the team.

He has a Master´s degree from Helsinki University in marketing and animal science and has studied supply chain management at Turku University.

He has many years’ experience in poultry, working with ROSS (208, 508 and 308) broilers and parents.

In the past, Hannu has worked as a primary production manager taking care of PS rearing, laying, hatcheries and broiler production.

In addition, he has over a decade of experience in parent stock production, during which he focused on marketing and sales in Finland and across the Baltic countries.