Red Tractor ‘a victim of its own success’ says chief executive

Red Tractor farm assurance is a “victim of its own success”, which is why some primary producers have little option but to be members, according to the organisation’s chief executive Jim Moseley.

Addressing a Tenant Farmers Association (TFA) webinar on Thursday (25 April), Mr Moseley said that, set against the core standards Red Tractor was set up to deliver, it had “excelled”. 

See also: Red Tractor sector board requests confidence vote in leadership

Surveys showed that 78% of consumers were aware of the Red Tractor scheme and, of those, 74% said they trusted the brand, which was why many end consumers insisted on suppliers being part of the scheme.

Mr Moseley said he understood the frustrations cereals growers felt, where it was hard to sell grain without being Red Tractor assured.

“It is a symptom of the success of Red Tractor,” he said. “Because it is a good scheme and a comprehensive scheme, it meets the requirements from a due diligence point of view for the vast majority of end customers.”

As a result, it had become difficult to find a market for non-assured grain.

“But grain growers need to remember that, with just that one Red Tractor audit, they have access to every market – be that human food, animal feed, exports or biofuels.”

Other sectors

Mr Moseley said similar arguments applied to milk, where the comprehensive nature of Red Tractor meant it was valued and required by end customers.

“It provides their due diligence around health, welfare, traceability, environmental standards – so we are a victim of our own success.

“Red Tractor is part of their specification, so the supplier has got to go there.”

Conversely, beef and lamb producers did have more choice as to whether to sell their stock as assured or not, though Mr Moseley was adamant that, over time, AHDB data had shown there was usually a small premium for Red Tractor assured animals going through the ring.

“But if you feel you don’t need assurance – no problem. If farmers can find another market and don’t need to be assured, that’s fine by me. It’s a business decision.”

No confidence

Despite the upbeat portrayal of Red Tractor, TFA chief executive George Dunn said that his members currently had no confidence in the scheme. He cited three particular reasons:

• The constant “ratcheting up” of standards, seemingly at the behest of retailers but without financial reward
• A lack of openness in the way Red Tractor does its business
• The fact some standards seem to lack any common sense.

“Our members would forgive all of that if Red Tractor could demonstrate that there is value to them, if they could see that those billions of pounds of retail spend that has the Red Tractor logo was supporting their businesses, supporting their families and providing a fair return.”

Mr Moseley agreed there was room for improvement, and said the organisation was working hard to find ways of reducing the burden of audits and avoiding duplication by linking into other databases.

But securing a bigger “slice of the cake” for farmers was not within its power, as it did not have a commercial relationship with retailers.