Article: Introducing Jodie Bolland, Pork Sector Council Member

Below, we share Jodie’s background, her thoughts on some of the challenges facing the sector and why she wanted to join the Pork Sector Council. 

Jodie's background

“I am a dairy farmer's daughter from the Yorkshire Dales and, while I didn’t grow up with them, pigs have formed some of the most exciting parts of my career to date.”

Working for Woodhead Brothers since 2011, Jodie has covered a variety of roles in the meat sector.

Her current role sees her lead the livestock sourcing team for beef, pork and lamb. She also manages the business’ external sales and various projects, as well as agricultural relationships for the red meat sectors.

Jodie has a particular passion for animal welfare and believes this has an important part to play in our point of difference as a nation.

She wants to make sure that the British pig industry is one that will be around in years to come and to ensure the future is bright.

Jodie’s direct links with the Morrisons’ retail and agricultural teams bring a new dynamic to the Pork Sector Council. She is looking forward to sharing her knowledge, trading experience in retail, and her recent MBA qualification with the group. This will help offer a breadth of understanding that will help take the industry into a new era of change.

Joining the Pork Council

“Having completed my MBA at Manchester University in 2021, I was keen to take on a broader role than I had at the time. I see my position on AHDB’s Pork Sector Council as an exciting opportunity to have a broader voice in our industry.

“The British pork industry is on the cusp of change and being on the Council is an exciting opportunity to be part of that journey; it’s a way of supporting levy payers to make the changes they want to happen.

“It means representing levy payers by giving AHDB guidance on the work that needs to be carried out to give the best value to producers and processors.

“Before joining the Council, I was under the impression that AHDB could lobby the government. However, this is not the case due to complexities around funding. I think this is a misconception many people in the industry have. So, while I thought AHDB should do more to lobby government, it is really a case of finding new ways to get our messages across.”

Areas of interest

“While levy payers might not see the direct impact to them, I truly believe that opening more export markets and selling the great welfare story of British pork abroad is imperative to keep our industry alive.

“I was happy to see that levy payers had voted in favour of these ambitions as part of the Shape the Future vote and I thoroughly look forward to seeing how we open more export markets in the future."

Challenges facing the pork sector

Commenting on the challenges that our sector is facing, Jodie said:

“Finding value for everyone in the supply chain is a big challenge in the pork sector. While we trade within a global playing field, we compete with cheaper European pig meat across the market.

“This is a challenge for the sector and, therefore, finding new markets abroad and marketing British pork in the best way is going to be imperative for the longer-term sustainability of the industry.

“As a member of the Council, I hope to bring a balanced voice as I work directly with farmers, processors and retailers to help grow our British presence and brand.”

AHDB’s sector councils

AHDB’s sector councils are the voice of levy payers within AHDB. The councils are responsible for proposing the work that needs to be done on behalf of levy payers and making funding decisions about what we deliver. Each council member must be ratified by levy payers and will serve for a term of three years, with a maximum of two terms.