Statement from the Red Tractor Board of Directors

The Red Tractor Board welcomes the recommendations of the Farm Assurance Review

Since the publication of the Farm Assurance Review on 20 January, its full range of recommendations have been discussed at length by the Red Tractor Board. Considerable input has also been provided by the Sector Boards, which have representation from the whole supply chain including 23 farmers.  

Having listened to all perspectives, Red Tractor’s Board supports the Review’s recommendations and is fully committed to delivering improvements to farm assurance in collaboration with farmers and their representative bodies, the farming unions, AHDB, other assurance schemes, the retail and processing sectors, government and the certification bodies responsible for auditing farms.

We welcome the Review’s recognition of the substantial benefits that farm assurance brings to the UK food and farming sector, but we also acknowledge the deep frustrations expressed by producers. There is a clear disconnect between these experiences and Red Tractor’s core purpose to deliver value to British food and farming, which we must address.

We want farmers to feel heard, involved and proud to be part of Red Tractor. The input and contribution that farmers make to the development of our standards, governance structures and on our Board is of vital importance to Red Tractor.

We acknowledge that more can be done to ensure farmers feel consulted, listened to and able to influence decision-making. We welcome this Review as an opportunity to reset relationships with farmers, and to better align with all stakeholders on the role assurance will play in a rapidly changing world.

The Red Tractor team, led by the Sector Boards, has begun work that will help to deliver many of the recommendations. This includes work to improve our communications with farmers, streamline our standards, improve audit efficiency and embrace new technology, all of which should reduce the audit burden for farmers. We are also doubling down on our efforts to increase engagement with farmers as part of our leadership culture.

Our commitments to deliver the relevant recommendations in the Farm Assurance Review are outlined in our detailed response published today. We will report progress against these commitments regularly, with updates published on our website. We will also build these commitments into future business plans.

Continued over the page…

The recommendations include some complex issues that all involved with Red Tractor want to properly address. Everyone we’ve consulted has recognised the extremely challenging timescales outlined in the Review, together with the need for collaboration with other organisations.

For this reason, our response proposes realistic milestones that prioritise key issues and maintain momentum, while balancing speed with rigour. We have also written to other farm assurance schemes and stakeholders to offer collaboration and look forward to supporting where there is a need or the opportunity to work together.

As was clear in our recent Sector Board meetings, different farming sectors have different views, requirements and experiences. As a result, we will continue to work with our Sector Boards to, where asked, develop more tailored approaches.

In the coming months, we will be setting up opportunities to discuss plans more widely and hear thoughts and ideas from farmers and stakeholders about the direction of travel. These will include feedback via our website, webinars and face-to-face meetings around the country. We look forward to meeting you at these.

Yours sincerely,

The Red Tractor Board

Alistair Mackintosh, Interim Chair

John Dracup, Beef & Lamb Sector Chair, Representing the Beef & Lamb Sector Board.

Tim Lock, Dairy Sector Chair, Representing the Dairy Sector Board.

Kit Papworth, Crops & Sugar Beet Sector Chair, Representing the Crops & Sugar Beet Sector Board.

Stewart Houston, Pigs Sector Chair, Representing the Pig Sector Board.

Iain Gardner, Poultry Sector Chair, Representing the Poultry Sector Board.

Lucy MacLennan, Fresh Produce Sector Chair, Representing the Fresh Produce Sector Board.

David Exwood, Industry Director, NFU, Representing the Farm Unions

Will Jackson, Industry Director, AHDB

Dean Holroyd, Industry Director, British Meat Processing Association

David Neilson, Industry Director, British Poultry Council

Sophie Throup, Industry Director, British Retail Consortium

James Russell, Independent Director and Fellow of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons

John Pain, Independent Director with consumer marketing expertise

Chris Goodwin, Independent Director and Chartered Certified Accountant

Jim Moseley, Chief Executive Officer of Red Tractor