Technical updates
Driving assessor consistency - Strengthening Trust & Transparency | Getting ready for winter
Kate Cross, the Compliance Manager at Red Tractor, often hears the need for assessor consistency from members, and addressing this issue is a primary focus for her team.
She says “Ensuring consistency is a fundamental objective of Red Tractor, and I know how critical it is to maintain the trust of both farmers and consumers."
Red Tractor’s Assessor Academy plays a key role in achieving this objective, providing training and testing assessors on their understanding of the standards. We accompany assessors on farm visits to observe their interactions with members, and investigate any individual feedback received from members. In addition to these measures, Red Tractor works with our Certification Body partners in facilitating Continuing Professional Development (CPD) events, such as a recent session held specifically for pig assessors.
Consumers and retailers need confidence that every farm certified under the Red Tractor logo adheres to the same rigorous standards, ensuring the integrity of the UK farming industry. At the same time, farmers expect audits to be fair and consistent. We know that any discrepancies in how standards are interpreted or applied can lead to confusion, frustration, a lack of trust, and a sense of unfairness among farmers.
Maintaining this consistency requires ongoing training and open communication between Red Tractor and its assessors. This allows us to align on the interpretation of standards, address ambiguous scenarios, and provide clear guidance on both existing and updated requirements.
At the recent engagement day with our pig scheme assessors, we had the chance to update them on upcoming minor changes to standards for early next year and discuss our plans to improve audit efficiency and reduce duplication in the pig sector. Assessors engaged in valuable discussions about how standards should be interpreted in various on-farm situations, with the goal of achieving greater consistency in audit practices.
We are striving to ensure that audits are fair, proportionate, and transparent across the board.
Some assessors identified key areas where they would benefit from further guidance, and we will be sharing these insights with pig scheme members to ensure that everyone is clear on expectations. Additionally, hearing directly from assessors about their on-farm observations provided valuable insights into how the pig standards are being implemented and assessed in practice.
Through these efforts we aim to ensure that all assessors share a unified understanding of what is required on Red Tractor farms, ultimately promoting a more consistent and transparent audit process across the entire scheme.
As winter approaches, we'd like to highlight the Environment Agency's (EA) support for farmers regarding slurry storage.
They recently published a helpful blog which you may want to look at: Helping Farmers Get Ready for Winter with Slurry Storage Support.
Additionally, they've released a case study featuring a farmer from Cornwall, discussing their approach to slurry storage: Getting Winter Ready: A Case Study.
There is help available if you need to improve your slurry storage capacity. The EA stresses that their officers are available to collaborate with you, helping you find practical solutions tailored to your specific needs.
Look out for the New Technical Briefing – Fresh Produce Members
We will be issuing a technical briefing for Fresh Produce members very soon.
It includes important information about Red Tractor’s benchmarking with GLOBALG.A.P. IFA Fruit & Vegetables standards, bringing Red Tractor's standards in line with theirs, preventing members from needing an additional farm audit.
