Red Tractor opens consultations on Beef & Lamb and Dairy standards
Red Tractor is inviting farmers and other industry participants to comment on proposed changes to its Beef & Lamb and Dairy standards. The consultation runs from 22 September to 3 November and is intended to gather views on whether the revised requirements are clear and workable in farming practice.
The proposed revisions would consolidate and rearrange existing requirements, while removing some detailed instructions from the audit framework. Red Tractor said this would reduce the number of requirements for Beef & Lamb by one-third and for Dairy by one-quarter.
Sector-specific Technical Advisory Committees assessed each audit point against agreed criteria. The committees include farmers, veterinarians, processors, retailers and other industry representatives. Members of the Beef & Lamb and Dairy Sector Boards, together with Red Tractor’s Standards Committee, have reached agreement on the proposals released for consultation.
For Beef & Lamb, the package contains a limited number of additional provisions concerning practical welfare and resilience. The subjects include extreme weather, feed safety, disease planning, nutrient management and housing.
The Dairy proposals include a new code of conduct covering animal care and handling. They also contain recommendations on cow comfort, environmental enrichment and competence in foot trimming. Changes shared by the two sectors are intended to bring their standards into closer alignment, reducing duplicated requirements for farms in England that hold assurance for both dairy and beef.
“We want to hear all points of view, but particularly those of farmers,” said John Dracup, chair of the Beef & Lamb Sector Board. He said farms differed and that Red Tractor wanted feedback where a requirement was unclear or another practical method of showing compliance existed.
Tim Lock, chair of the Dairy Sector Board, said the objective was to make the standards clearer and more practical. He said the proposed changes would leave expectations for farmers broadly unchanged in most cases while simplifying preparation for assessments and the process of demonstrating compliance. He added that the revisions were intended to preserve market confidence.
Feedback will be considered by the relevant Technical Advisory Committees and Sector Boards before a decision is made on which proposals proceed. Red Tractor is separately reviewing its assessment methods; further changes may be shared as that work develops. Consultations on standards for Combinable Crops & Sugar Beet, Fresh Produce, Pigs and Poultry are due to follow later in the year.
