Dutch Poultry Centre celebrates 20 year!

This year, we have something to celebrate: we exist for 20 years!  What started small after a miserable period has become an amazing journey of now two decades.

Our story

In 2003, the Netherlands was hit by bird flu. It was unprecedented and unheard of what came over the poultry industry at the time. Mass mortality of birds and preventive culling as a method of control. Only after a year we were out of the misery. When everything got back on track, we noticed how we were looked at abroad. ‘A messy country with diseases,’ we heard. Bird flu had damaged the good name of The Netherlands. The disease was gone and controlled, but we kept running into it. Individual farms were also dealing with it. This was the initial impetus for setting up a foundation in which companies cooperate in contacts and meetings with potential customers.  Giving joint presentations at trade fairs and inbound and outbound trade missions proved to work well in practice. It put the Netherlands back on the map.

The first members of DPC were mainly from the municipality of Barneveld. This was a logical consequence of the fact that the municipality of Barneveld was the initiator of this cooperation. Soon, companies from other regions became members.

When it was founded in January 2005, 20 companies immediately became members. A year later, this number had already doubled. In 2008, the first trade mission was organised: a trip to Russia in combination with VIV Moscow.

Serving the poultry planet

Now 20 years later, we have grown into an organisation with more than 100 members and a dedicated team of volunteers and professionals with heart for the sector. With passion and enthusiasm, we work on our mission: to guard and cluster the global reputation, the very good reputation and thus the super strong image of the entire Dutch poultry sector into one strong brand.  DPC stands there, is seen and has a unique position on the international stage.

Thanks to our members

Our existence would not have been possible without the trust and support of our members, partners and relations.  We therefore thank them for their trust in us and will continue to put our heart and soul into the Dutch poultry sector in the years to come.

Let’s celebrate

We consider the 20th anniversary a special milestone. During VIV Asia 2025 and our annual BBQ in July this year, we would like to celebrate and pay attention to this special anniversary. More information on this later.

On to the next 20 years

The agricultural sector, including poultry farming, is increasingly facing negative publicity in the Netherlands. Discussions on sustainability and animal welfare are often used to advocate shrinkage of the sector. The nitrogen file is high on the political agenda and buyout schemes for poultry farming are intensively used, including by large and modern companies. Many members of DPC have their origins in the primary sector. From there, they have developed innovations that have been brought to value elsewhere in the world. As DPC, we would like to make a positive contribution to the realisation that a solid home front is necessary for a good international trading position of Dutch companies. At conferences, in the media and in contacts with the government, we continue to advocate this. We do and already do so with the support and backing of our participants. To this end, we remain a unique network organisation where mutual contacts and meetings are central.