​BEMB Trust support new Post Graduate project  2020 - 2024
 
It is the policy of the BEMB Research and Education Trust to fund a Post Graduate Award every other year for research into projects relating to hen egg production.  Each Award is for a period of 4 years and sponsorship is based upon BBSRC rates.

The Trust has identified research towards the longer term control of infestations of poultry red mite (PRM), Gallinae dermanyssus, as a particular topic for study at the current time but also considers other topics it considers important to the UK egg industry. After a call for new projects during 2019, the Trustees are pleased to confirm that a PhD project presented by Dr Shahriar Behboudi PhD DVM of the School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Surrey, entitled "Control of avian pathogenic Escherichia coli by non-antibiotic compounds inducing trained immunity of chicken macrophages" will receive funding from the BEMB Trust for the period 2020 to 2024. James Adams who has recently completed a MSc in Biological Sciences Research at the Royal Holloway University of London has been appointed to complete this new PhD project.  

The Trustees have also awarded pump priming funds to Dr Stewart Burgess BSc PhD, Moredun Research Institute for a project entitled "Elucidating the molecular basis of red poultry mite chemoreception and host location behaviour." This project will commence in March 2020 and be completed as part of an ongoing BEMB sponsored PhD project at Greenwich University in October 2022.
 

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Hannah publishes her Nuffield Farming Scholarships Trust Report 

Hannah Eastaugh, who works as an Agricultural Manager for Noble Foods, was sponsored by the BEMB Trust to complete a Nuffield Farming scholarship study during 2019 and 2020, looking into the topic of 'Adapting UK egg production for an increasingly welfare-conscious market'

As part of her study, Hannah travelled to the USA, Canada, Norway, Germany, Austria, Denmark, Netherlands and across the UK. On 10 August 2020 she published a report about her findings which you can view by visiting www.nuffieldinternational.org/reports or download a pdf of her report here.

The objectives of Hannah's study tour were to identify potential challenges and opportunities that the UK egg industry could face in the near future and how to promote the welfare credentials of egg production to ultimately inform the end consumer. 

The key messages from her report are: 
1 It is time we, as an industry opened our doors, so that we are controlling the narrative rather than it being written for us. We have a good story to tell.
2. We have some of the best farm standards globally, but we must not become complacent and must be audit-ready at all times.
3. Barn eggs do have a place on the retail shelf but retail pricing needs readjusting for it to be a viable option.
4. Producer margins need to improve if we are to have a sustainable egg industry in the future, requiring joint support from retailers, egg packers and producers.
5. There are many challenges and opportunities coming down the track; but we are an industry that has shown in the past that we are able to innovate and adapt, and this must continue if we are wanting to grow within an increasingly welfare-conscious market