NFU seeks to ‘revolutionise’ Red Tractor assurance
© Tim Scrivener The NFU council last night agreed to launch two wide-ranging reviews into Red Tractor, following weeks of angry reaction from members to the scheme’s controversial green module, the Greener Farming Commitment (GFC).
On Tuesday, the council had already pledged a review into the governance of Red Tractor, but president Minette Batters went further at an internal meeting yesterday, where she promised a second, broader investigation, looking at how to “revolutionise” farm to fork assurance in England and Wales.
See also: NFU call to pause Red Tractor ‘green’ module ignored
This review will examine whether producers get fair value from assurance schemes, look at the relevance of assurance to different sectors and whether the ‘one size fits all’ model is fair and correct, while also exploring the effect on farmers’ and growers’ mental health.
Ms Batters said: “I’m very happy indeed that, after what’s been a difficult few days for all of us, the review into Red Tractor governance can now begin and we can start to build this second, far bigger, review into assurance as a whole.
“It’s time for that to happen, so we can look at what works and what doesn’t, and to make sure assurance is fit for purpose in the years ahead.
“It’s critical that this involves a wide consultation with NFU members through their boards, both regional and sector, and also that it is a collaborative review, undertaken across all the farming organisations.”
The NFU leadership team had come under increasing pressure to take more radical steps to reform Red Tractor, after originally releasing a statement on Tuesday in deputy president Tom Bradshaw’s name, saying council had “agreed with the principle, but not the process” of the introduction of the green module.
In the interim, the National Sheep Association had called for a “root and branch review” of Red Tractor.
And the National Beef Association hit out at the GFC, saying there was an opportunity for farmers to gain financially from their environmental credentials through government schemes, rather than being subjected to extra cost and increased administration.
Meanwhile, Red Tractor chairwoman Christine Tacon was ridiculed on social media after publishing an open letter which said RT had sought to “represent and protect the interests of Red Tractor farmers” during talks on the GFC.
Though the letter said the GFC had revealed “strong feelings across the membership about Red Tractor’s governance which we need to listen to and understand,” there was no mention of halting the module’s implementation.
On concerns about recompense for participating, Ms Tacon said: “Ultimately… the final price paid by the market has to be the result of a commercial negotiation between farmers or growers and their customers.”
A Red Tractor spokesperson said: “Our chair, Christine Tacon, commented in her open letter to Red Tractor members earlier this week, that any request for a review of Red Tractor should be considered by the Ownership Body, who would then instruct Red Tractor’s Main (AFS) Board as appropriate. The team at Red Tractor would cooperate fully to ensure openness and pace.
“Red Tractor welcomes the NFU’s wider look at assurance as a whole. We share the NFU’s desire to make sure assurance is fit for purpose in the years ahead.”