Second National Farming Award For Driffield Poultry And Farms Supervisor

An East Yorkshire poultry rearing company is celebrating after one of its employees won a second national farming award.

Mel Jackson, Poultry and Farms Supervisor at Middleton on the Wolds-based Clive Soanes Broilers, won Farm Worker of the Year at the British Farming Awards last week.

After winning the same honour at Farmers Weekly two weeks ago, Ms Jackson has now won it again.

A delighted Ms Jackson said:

“I enjoy working for Clive Soanes Broilers because every day is a learning day and I get to work with animals, which is my biggest passion. 

“It hasn’t sunk in yet that I have won two national farming awards in the space of two weeks, but I am absolutely delighted for myself and the team I work with. To be recognised by my boss, what else could I ask for? “

Amanda Thomas from Layland’s Farm in North Yorkshire won the silver award over Alison Waugh from Daisy Bank Dairy, Jennifer Proudlove from Halton Farms Ltd and Alison Waugh from Daisy Bank Dairy.

Among the judges for the Farm Worker of the Year category were last year’s winners, Chloe Shorten; Becci Berry from the Institute of Agriculture and Horticulture; Hannah Binns from Agriconnect; and Guy Moreton from MorePeople.

The judges said:

“Melanie is a great example of a farm worker who goes above and beyond for the welfare of the birds, making their health and happiness, as well as the people she manages, her top priority.

“From working on the factory floor to poultry and farms supervisor, she has had two successful careers within the business and built up many transferable CPD skills, which are a credit to her.”

For ten years, Morrisons has sponsored the British Farming Awards, which celebrate the diversity and resilience of the UK’s farming community.

Chicken has been reared at Clive Soanes Broilers since 1947. Sister company Soanes Poultry processes and sells the chicken to butchers, independent retailers, and restaurants in Yorkshire, as well as wholesalers and catering butchers across the country.