Red tractor goes into reverse
FOOD assurance body Red Tractor has confirmed it is dropping plans to launch its green farming assurance standard in April.
The organisation sparked uproar from farmers across the UK last year when it announced the Greener Farms Commitment (GFC) - an optional standard for farmers that meet certain environmental criteria.
Farmers feared the GFC would eventually evolve into a requirement for market access and would mean they foot the bill for implementing sustainability measures on behalf of supermarkets.
Following the backlash, Red Tractor halted the development of the GFC as the National Farmers Union (NFU) carried out a governance review into the organisation.
The probe, which was published last week, found Red Tractor was facing an “existential crisis” due to a lack of support from farmers.
The NFU and the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) - both founding members of Red Tractor - have since called on the board to stop the development of the GFC. In a joint statement, they said: “The UK Farming Unions and AHDB are very clear that the Greener Farms Commitment will be unable to command any level of support no matter what consultation is put in place. Resumption of work on the Greener Farms Commitment module would be extremely damaging to Red Tractor’s reputation.”
The bodies said the board needs “to begin from first principles in ‘full consultation mode’ and once trust has been re-established, to offer the best basis for propelling action on these issues”.
Red Tractor told the PA news agency yesterday that the GFC will not be launched on April 1.
The assurance body said it will be outlining its next steps ahead of the board meeting later this month after which it will give an update on how it plans to move forward.
In a statement, Red Tractor said the NFU review found that its governance was sound and that its Assured Food Standards board is “considering every aspect of the report carefully”.
The statement said: “This process is clearly a priority and will be completed properly before any decisions are taken on next steps,” it said. “This Governance Review is an essential opportunity for us to reflect and refresh the way Red Tractor delivers its role for all stakeholders.
“Balancing differing views across the supply chain is always difficult at any time, but we hear loud and clear the level of frustration farmers feel in the current operating environment.
“We will listen carefully and take these views into account.”