Fred is just 32 years old and became a Director of Allen Farms (Coddington) Ltd in 2018. The company is made of up of three core enterprises - 1200 aces of arable land, 500 breeding mule ewes, and an 850 sow farrow-to-finish pig unit.
It is predominantly with the pig unit that Fred has made the most sizeable impact. Since becoming a Director, he has overseen a 30% increase in the sow herd, alongside ongoing investment in the unit’s pig housing. There have been continuous improvements in performance which has helped steer the business through the industry’s recent adversity.
But it was Fred’s spotlight on reaching nett zero by 2027, as well as his strategic and fresh approach to pig production, which made him the winner of his award.
In Fred’s words, “success with the pig unit will always be at the mercy of the weather and politics”. And whilst neither can be managed, Premier Nutrition’s support with nutrition advice, premix, starter feeds and straights supply for their on-farm home mix milling has been invaluable.
Fred praises Premier Nutrition’s Business Manager, Stuart Rowley, as an incredible mentor who goes above and beyond any customer/supplier relationship he has elsewhere. Fred doubts he’d still be in the industry if it wasn’t for the encouragement and belief Stuart has given in the aspirations for Allen Farms.
Fred acknowledges, however, that the full team at Premier has helped drive the business forward in recent years, particularly with the constant monitoring of diets and nutrition.
Looking ahead, Fred hopes that the introduction of Premier’s PigCheck monitoring and analysis service will help to ensure that the business stays on track to achieve further improvements, striving towards the overall ambition of becoming carbon-neutral in 4 years’ time.
Fred Allen with Stuart Rowley, Premier Nutrition's Pig Team Business Manager