Red Tractor, the UK farm assurance scheme, has opened a six-week consultation on livestock and dairy standards that it says will significantly cut the audit burden for farmers while adding some new requirements.

The proposals follow a "line by line, word by word" review by the scheme's Technical Advisory Committees. Dairy Sector Board chairman Tim Lock said they should mean 25 per cent fewer requirements for dairy producers and 33 per cent fewer for beef and sheep producers, partly by aligning beef and lamb with some dairy standards in England to remove duplication.

There would be fewer audit points and a more farm-specific approach to health planning: farmer and vet would agree a 12-month "roadmap" with defined steps and timelines in place of a prescriptive health plan, which is expected to reduce non-conformances.

New draft standards include shade for livestock in extreme heat and two feed-safety audit points on intake and storage, to lower the risk of diseases such as botulism entering the food chain. In England, nutrient management would go beyond the manure management plan to cover all nutrients and match applications to crop need and soil type, said Beef & Lamb Board chairman John Dracup. Pain relief would be recommended after procedures and conditions likely to cause pain, including calving, lameness and mastitis, and on dairy farms everyone handling animals would sign a code of conduct committing to report mistreatment.

Jemma Holden, senior technical manager at Red Tractor, said the aim was standards that are proportionate and reflect current practice and law, while the scheme also looks at what assessments check and how technology can help.

The consultation closes on 3 November, with agreed changes due in 2027; farmers are asked to respond through the online form. The NFU welcomed clearer standards, and its Dairy Board chairman Ian Harvey urged dairy farmers to take part.

Photo: Dr Neil Clifton / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Source: Farmers Weekly