Jim Strathern, who has been
producing Christmas turkeys for more than 50 years, has been elected chairman
of the Anglian Turkey Association (ATA). Strathern has been an ATA member for
more than 20 years.
The Strathern family began
farming at Heath Farm, Birch, in 1930 when his parents moved from Ayrshire to
Essex, England, and he started the turkey business in 1959.
The
farm produces turkeys for local customers and local butchers. “During this
period the retail trade has gone from selling all long-legged birds to the
public to now all oven-ready and cut-up birds,” said Strathern. “The emphasis
has always been on the Christmas trade and maintaining the highest possible
standard of quality.”
Strathern has also served as
chairman of Colchester branch of the National Farmers’ Union and of Colchester
Agricultural Club.
The Strathern family farms
some 1300 acres in arable rotation and are now best known for potato growing,
processing and crisp manufacturing. The family also runs Birch Airfield
Composting Services, set up to recycle garden waste collected by Essex County
Council.
The new vice chairman of ATA is
Martin Shea, who joined the turkey industry in 1966 with
Lancashire Turkeys. After graduating from Harper Adams University College in
1970, Shea joined British United Turkeys (BUT) as a management trainee.
In
1987 Shea was appointed in 1987 as managing director of BUT, a position he held
for 21 years. In 2008, he went on to establish Hockenhull Turkeys at
Attleborough, Norfolk, as a producer and seller of premium quality turkey
poults for the traditional farm fresh market.
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