Industry honours its egg producers at National Egg & Poultry Awards 2026

Published on : 9 Jul 2026

Outstanding businesses, exceptional individuals and pioneering innovation were recognised at the National Egg & Poultry Awards 2026

BFREPA members were among the winners recognised at the National Egg & Poultry Awards 2026, held on Tuesday evening in London, where the industry gathered to celebrate achievement across production, sustainability and innovation.

Lucy Sanderson of Moreton Grange Farms was named Egg Producer of the Year, with judges recognising flock performance of 531 eggs per hen housed to 100 weeks, achieved through what organisers described as innovative management and meticulous attention to welfare and detail.

Callum James of Devon & Somerset Eggs took the Young Farmer of the Year award, sponsored by Boehringer Ingelheim, for his management of 56,000 free-range laying hens alongside active engagement with industry organisations and supply chain partners. Benjamin Turner of Pilgrims Europe was highly commended in the same category for performance improvements on a 187,000-bird higher welfare broiler unit and a salmonella eradication programme.

Farmlay Eggs won Egg Packer of the Year, sponsored by Huvepharma, for investment in automation and producer partnerships that has increased packing capacity by two million eggs a week while expanding its producer network and securing new long-term contracts.

Greg Cole of Cole Farming received the Sustainable Farming Award, sponsored by Elanco, for regenerative egg production built on off-grid renewable energy, circular nutrient management and biodiversity work that has included planting 1,400 native trees.

St Ewe Free Range Eggs closed the evening by taking Poultry Business of the Year, sponsored by Ceva, after a year in which it sold more than 300 million eggs and became Europe's first B Corp-certified egg packer. The award follows a period of substantial investment for the Cornwall-based packer, which opened a £13m pasteurisation and liquid egg facility earlier this year, built around what founder and chief executive Bex Tonks said was the first Moba egg breaker of its kind installed in the UK, capable of processing 72,000 eggs an hour. The plant pairs the breaker with an Omic unit, also a UK first, which pasteurises eggs using high-voltage electrical treatment rather than heat - a process Tonks said "flash treats the eggs with a very high bolt of electricity, which heat treats and pasteurises the egg without denaturing the egg, which improves the quality of the egg." St Ewe has since launched a free range liquid egg range for foodservice, supplying whole egg, egg white and egg yolk in ready-to-pour cartons to professional kitchens nationwide.

The awards, now in their ninth year, were hosted by television presenter Ben Hanlin, with finalists announced by broadcaster Alan Dedicoat. Poultry Business editor Chloe Ryan opened the evening by reflecting on the pace of change facing the sector, citing geopolitical uncertainty, volatile markets, energy costs and continuing disease threats alongside the resilience shown across the industry.

BFREPA's Gary Ford, head of strategy and producer engagement, sat on the judging panel alongside representatives from the British Poultry Council, British Egg Industry Council, NFU and veterinary and industry veterans.