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Updates from your Sector Boards I Red Tractor urges MPs to support UK farmers I Red Tractor is back on TV this Christmas

Updates from your Sector Boards

UK farmers are currently navigating a landscape fraught with challenges. Rising costs and extreme weather events are becoming the norm, while recent government policy changes have introduced further uncertainty.

Yet, amid these difficulties you have remained committed to producing high-quality food that the nation trusts and relies on.

At Red Tractor, we understand the immense pressures which these issues place on agricultural community.

Transparency is vital, and we are committed to sharing insights from our recent Sector Board meetings.

Click for the latest updates from the November round of Sector Board meetings:

Red Tractor members are the backbone of UK food security, upholding strict standards that ensure a plentiful supply of nutritious and sustainable produce.

As we advocate on your behalf, we emphasise the importance of addressing these pressing issues with government officials and stakeholders across the supply chain.

Our shared mission is to cultivate a strong, secure future for British food and farming. By working together and maintaining open lines of communication, we can overcome the obstacles ahead and ensure that the agricultural sector continues to thrive for generations to come.

Red Tractor urges MPs to support UK farmers

Red Tractor is advocating for MPs to support farmers by addressing critical policy challenges affecting the agricultural sector.

With over 46,000 farmer members and 800 processors contributing more than £17 billion to the economy, Red Tractor highlights the significant pressures these stakeholders face. These include rising input costs, extreme weather events and regulatory complexities. This is in a submission the Environment, Farming, Rural and Agriculture (EFRA) Parliamentary Select Committee, which scrutinises Defra.

Three Areas for Action:

1. Reducing the Audit Burden:

Farmers are overwhelmed by the duplication of audits from multiple regulators. Red Tractor is proposing an expansion of earned recognition, which allows for a reduction in the frequency of inspections for certified farms who have already demonstrated good compliance through independent assessments.

This model has already proven effective with the Food Standards Authority, where inspections against relevant food and feed hygiene legislation for long-standing members have decreased significantly.

2. Rethinking Mandatory Animal Welfare Labelling:

The introduction of mandatory labelling for animal welfare, particularly for pigs and poultry, is being considered by Defra.

Red Tractor is arguing that this could increase costs, confuse consumers and undermine their trust in farmers, the food industry and third party assurance schemes.

Red Tractor is therefore urging MPs to challenge this proposal and advocate for labelling policies that support farmers.

3. Addressing the Impact of Devolved Administrations:

The divergence in policies between English devolved administrations has led to increased inconsistency and risks farmers being treated differently between borders despite operating in the same UK-wide market.

Red Tractor calls for MPs to promote collaboration between Defra and these administrations to create a more unified approach, ensuring efficiency and sustainability in farming practices across the UK.

How MPs Can Help:

Red Tractor is asking MPs sitting on the EFRA Committee to focus on initiatives that alleviate burdens on farmers and streamline regulations. We have also invited MPs to join a Red Tractor assessment, providing them with firsthand experience of the skill and expertise of our members, as well as the challenges and standards within modern farming.

Red Tractor Head of Operations Philippa Wiltshire last month spoke to the World Trade Organisation in Geneva about the success of Red Tractor’s existing earned recognition agreement with the FSA in improving food safety in the UK while reducing on-farm duplication of audits.

Spreading Festive Cheer:

Red Tractor’s Christmas spotlight on trusted British food

This Christmas, Red Tractor is back on TV and Video On Demand.

From 11th December to 5th January, showcasing the vital role farmers and the food supply chain play in delivering food produced to some of the highest standards in the world.

The campaign will reach 16 million main shoppers during the festive season, featuring in top seasonal programming to raise awareness and recognition for your hard work.

The stats behind the scenes:

What’s more, our latest research with 10,000 UK shoppers, highlights just how impactful Red Tractor is:

Red Tractor remains the most recognised and trusted food assurance marque in the UK.
The Red Tractor logo on-pack is a key signpost of quality, with two-thirds of shoppers associating it with higher standards—twice as many as those who associate the Union Flag with quality.
When shopping, our logo is the third thing consumers notice after the product descriptor and image, showing its influence on purchase decisions.

The potential of Red Tractor is not limited to just the UK.

Our research among 5,000 international shoppers in key potential export markets shows that Red Tractor certification builds trust and increases their likelihood of buying British products.

This visibility and consumer trust are invaluable in supporting farmers like you and showcasing the outstanding care and quality that define Red Tractor standards.

A message from our Pig Sector Chair

My Prostate and Me

Stewart Houston has a message that could save lives. It’s not a typical chairman’s note and speaks to an issue that too often goes ignored. Stewart is sharing his story not to draw sympathy but to sound a wake-up call for all of us, especially the men, who might brush off their health as something that can wait until “next time.”

I know it’s not a very original title, but I’m on a mission. If you would bear with me through this little story, there’s a strong message at the end because farming and country folk are often too focused on their livestock and crops to look after themselves. You can’t do that if you end up unwell unnecessarily!

I was due my usual practice nurse annual look at blood pressure etc. at the end of September. and my wife, Janet nagged me into asking for a PSA test (prostate specific antigen).

The nurse reluctantly agreed to do it for me and the surgery called me the next day to tell me that the score was very high (80.4 where normal is 4) and that they’d referred me to Harrogate Hospital Urology Department. I had no symptoms at all and would never have known if Janet hadn’t insisted that I asked for the test.

Within a couple of days, they fixed me up with a bone scan (in the Nuclear Scanning Unit. What!) on the 11th of October and we were back in Harrogate for the results on the 21st.

Advanced prostate cancer was confirmed, which meant that it had spread beyond the prostate. It was a bit weird seeing your own skeleton on screen with little black dots that shouldn’t be there!

Because of the high score Janet and I were prepared for the worst and focused on what comes next and I’m pleased to say that they started me on hormone therapy that very day. The treatment consisted of 4 weeks on pills with an injection midway and which is to be repeated every 3 months for the rest of my life. I liked that last bit because it sounded longer term and made me comfortable to start reading a long book.

The Consultant explained that the male hormone, testosterone, actually encourages cancer growth, and the purpose of the treatment was to reduce then stop the body producing the male hormone.

Maybe you can guess what’s coming next! I’m already having hot flushes (Janet smiles), the size of my boobs may increase, and my willie was likely to get smaller. I can hardly find it now on a cold night at a football match at the Stadium of Light! On the plus side, I eventually might be able to multi-task!

Whatever you’ve heard about the NHS, their cancer stuff works like clockwork. They supplied explanatory pamphlets and introduced me to Macmillan nurses if I felt the need for support. I’ve read the information pamphlet from top to toe, and nowhere does it say that I have to stop drinking beer and wine. Get in!

They quickly organised a meeting between the Consultant, the Oncologist and the Radiographer to discuss what else they might support me with, and I had my first chemotherapy at the end of last month. It’s clear that they can’t cure the cancer, but they can control it without ruining quality of life.

So, I’ve told you all this because, as I said earlier, country folk are notorious for being too busy to look after themselves, as well as the “I don’t want to know!” syndrome.

So, Lads, I need you to Man Up and go and Get A Test. Several of my mates in the industry have already taken up the challenge and come out fine. Now, a message for the Ladies. You need to start nagging your husband, partner, Dad, uncles and brothers to GET A TEST.

The test itself is not as definitive as most doctors would like and can miss the presence of cancer, so you need a bit of grit to insist on having the test. The trick is to catch it early. The survival rate then is almost 100%. The longer it’s there, the more it sneaks about in the body causing longer term bother, so if you are around the age of 50 get tested regularly. This is especially the case if there is a history of prostate trouble in the family.

In my case, there were no symptoms, it was just Janet looking after me after stuff she’d seen on television.

So, just for me, Get Tested!

Get support from Prostate Cancer UK