Red Tractor boss spells out benefits of the scheme
© EM Welch/REX/Shutterstock Farmers would probably be dealing with 10-20 individual assurance schemes today if the agricultural industry had not developed Red Tractor, according to its chairman, Jim Moseley.
Asked during a session at NFU Conference about the return the scheme delivered to those farmers who felt they were just “jumping through hoops”, Mr Moseley explained the benefits of having a single assurance scheme.
“One thing a lot of us have forgotten is that 17 years ago, when Red Tractor was set up, it was in the wake of food scares,” he said.
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“Had Red Tractor not been set up at that point, I think there would be 10 or 20 individual assurance schemes in the market today, as all of the major retailers would have run their own.
“So I think one thing the Red Tractor scheme has done is limit the number of inspections. Certainly in the dairy sector, there will be far fewer inspections for a Red Tractor farmer.”
Mr Moseley said the scheme was also offering farmers access to certain markets.
AHDB, for example, reported that the standards underpinning Red Tractor were one of the biggest selling points for British food when it came to opening up new export markets.
“I appreciate there will be some units that are non-assured, that have a market for their produce and that still pay a good return with no problem at all,” Mr Moseley said.
“But if you want to get access to the bigger markets – to the bigger supermarkets, or to an export opportunity – then Red Tractor tends to be the standard you’ve got to be at.”
Mr Moseley said that research showed that 19m shoppers recognised the logo and 16m shoppers were actively influenced by it.
But his goal in terms of increasing the “size of the prize” for farmers was to grow consumer awareness further.
“It will certainly be an aim of mine that there will be more funding behind Red Tractor and more consumer awareness to get more demand.
“Typically, when there is more demand, there is an increased price.”