January 2014
31
supermini Name: Rebecca Kelsall farms: Saddleback pigs Hardest thing so far? Coming up with a business name
experience outside Hay Farms. “I studied agricultural marketing which was great fun and I learnt a lot but it also gives you contacts for the future. That one contact could get you to the next step.” When he returned to the family farm and helped introduce the turkey business he admits that he still had a lot to learn. “I didn’t see it as a large-scale business then – I was thrown in to learn
any one time of the year. It’s the job of Ben, his brother Jonty and a payroll approaching 40 employees to manage the enormous business which supplies chicken into Tesco and turkey into Cranberry Foods. “The obvious benefit we have is economies of scale whether in regards to negotiating better deals or gaining greater knowledge about the birds,” Ben said. “We learn a lot quicker with 18 farms – every week we’re seeing new chicks arrive and finished birds depart. We can trial new ideas and change things accordingly quickly. “I heard three basic words once at a conference that described our business well – simple, connected and driven – keep the business protocols simple, have connected communications with everyone and ensure that everything you’re doing is driven towards improving the staff Name: Ben Hay and the business.” farms: Chickens and Despite being turkeys at Hay Farms. brought up on the The operation farms farm, Ben was keen 2.5m chickens at any to go to Harper Adams and get one time
supersize
alongside the manager of a 10-shed site so I didn’t really think about the bigger picture. You have to learn the basics first, to grow the birds, as this is the core to the business, then you can step up further to the management side learning along the way. “Nowadays it’s knowing where to put our time to be most successful and that’s spending more time in the office negotiating deals on raw materials because it’s so volatile. “What’s helped greatly in the past is getting into meetings and conferences and listening to the industry – not always having input. A great deal of new entrants don’t have any exposure to the industry and I think it really helps to hear people talk about it as a whole – not just always thinking about your own business.” Expansion and continued improvement is still on Ben’s mind. He said that the company is always looking to be more efficient but further growth was required. “We’re looking every year at adding to the business – renewable energy with solar, wind and biomass boilers are the latest investment. We’ve got to keep growing our output to cover the costs of continued investments.”