On the road:

Cereals 2025

Royal Highland Show

Royal Three Counties Show

Harper Adams University

Cereals 2025: Engaging with members

At this year’s Cereals Event in Lincolnshire, Red Tractor welcomed farmers, stakeholders, and industry professionals from across the country. As one of the premier events in the arable farming calendar, Cereals always provides an excellent opportunity to connect directly with members and showcase the value of assurance.

Throughout the two-day event, the Red Tractor stand remained a hub of activity. We were once again featured on the NRoSO Knowledge Trail, offering visitors the chance to earn NRoSO points through an interactive quiz. The quiz helped attendees understand how Red Tractor standards support the responsible use of Plant Protection Products (PPPs), reinforcing our commitment to sustainable, compliant farm practices.

A key moment during the event came on day 1, when Red Tractor Chair Alistair Mackintosh took part in the Farmers Weekly Question Time panel. Joining a group of farming leaders on the mainstage Alistair contributed to a lively and wide-ranging debate on some of the most pressing issues facing the industry.

Alistair and the team, engaged in valuable conversations with hundreds of members over the two days. Listening to a wide range of feedback and concerns, with a recurring theme being the growing challenge of import pressures and the need for a level playing field.

“It was fantastic to meet so many of our members in person,” said Alistair. “Events like Cereals are vital for understanding what’s happening on the ground and ensuring our assurance schemes remain relevant and effective for the farming community.”

With a strong turnout, active engagement, and insightful discussions, Cereals 2025 reaffirmed the importance of collaboration and communication across the arable sector.

Date for your diary: Cereals 2026, June 10-11, Diddly Squat Farm, Chipping Norton.

Royal Three Counties Show

Making member engagement his top priority, last month Red Tractor Dairy Board Chair Tim Lock attended the Royal Three Counties Show. Throughout the day, Tim connected with members through meaningful conversations, answered their questions, and gathered valuable feedback.

This open dialogue is a key part of Red Tractor’s commitment to two-way communication and transparency, ensuring the scheme stays relevant, practical, and focused on the needs of farmers. Tim also contributed to a panel discussion on how different parts of the food supply chain can collaborate more effectively.

The conversation sparked insightful debate around sustainability, partnership, and the role of assurance schemes like Red Tractor in building consumer trust from farm to fork.

He emphasised the vital importance of including farmers’ voices in national discussions about food production and industry standards.

Royal Highland Show

Red Tractor attended this year’s Royal Highland Show, with Chair Alistair Mackintosh and others in the team meeting a broad cross-section of Scottish food and farming stakeholders. The event provided a valuable opportunity to share Red Tractor’s direction of travel and hear views from across the Scottish supply chain. There was strong support for the organisation’s evolving approach, particularly the early progress on the Farm Assurance Review. Stakeholders

Engaging with students

Earlier this month, communications team members Debbie Smith and Heather Davies presented to first-year students completing the Livestock Auctioneers course at Harper Adams University.

This engaging session provided a valuable opportunity to explore and discuss the role of Red Tractor as a whole chain assurance scheme with the students.

It also allowed us to share updates on our future consumer marketing campaigns and progress following the farm assurance review, fostering a meaningful debate around the importance of assurance for consumers and the industry.