suffolksmallholder
Member
- Location
- Suffolk
Thank you very much for your reply.
I'm looking for local and ethical but as no one had ever explained just exactly what the logo stood for. It was just yet another mark on a box!
SS
Suspended from Red Tractor
- Thread starter Clive
- Start date
I'm looking for local and ethical but as no one had ever explained just exactly what the logo stood for. It was just yet another mark on a box!
SS
Big business have labour spare at certain times to polish the sheds and someone in an office to keep all the paperwork sorted. A small farmer ( as in my case ) is busy off farm topping up the income to survive. The paperwork for 200 or 2000 acres varies little.
- Location
- Darlington
The RT logo stands for .......NOTHING. Look in a super market, a small logo on `some` of the milk. A small logo on `some` of the meat, you will be hard pressed to see it on the other 99% of products in store, plus majority of other products are from other countries anyway,and are not red tractor assured. have asked on occasion a shopper in Lidl if they look for the red tractor logo, If they don`t rush away because they fear I may be a loony, very few if any have heard of the RT let alone bother to look for food with it on. Ok for RT to send us shiny brochures waxing lyricaly about how good they are,when in fact the general public who buy from shops don`t give a toss .As has been said before,it is just a jobs for the boys con dreamed up by the nfu (could not bring myself to use capitals) who represent a minority of British farmers anyway.
I can be as cynical as the rest; but I am prepared to entertain the possibility that all the noises from govt to NFU representatives were saying that it is an industry led (at that time) scheme, or multi agency checks and effectively, a licence to farm. You choose.
- Location
- Darlington
Never been against asensible well run scheme but,,this crowd have gone far too far,we are getting rid of one lot of dictators today but will still have this lot.
- Location
- Lincolnshire
It was acceptable in the early days, I agree, but it's going too far and the screw tightens a bit more every year.
Keeping records was fine, but now we are into all sorts of management plans and assessments. Well as long as the job is done right and the end result is right, how I manage it should be up to me. If do the management off the top of my head without a written plan and it works then whats the problem. Its a small farm. I am the manager and the worker. I don't need to write myself a set of instructions to follow. I think a lot of this stuff came from industry that employed thousands in a hierarchy. We used to be festooned with "departmental procedures" that covered everything from releasing software to site to making a cup of tea. Don't really need to be that involved on small farms IMO. That's where its going wrong.
I will attend training of my own volition. I am no luddite but being compelled to attend training at sometimes inconvenient times and places gets on my wick. The whole scheme is getting far too prescriptive about how we do the job. Rant over.
SilliamWhale
Member
I agree. No one objects to record keeping - it is in fact part of the GAEC I think. But its all the "management speak" reams of paper that is deliberately out to confuse - its all paper pushing. We're trying to become more efficient and then the bulls**t doesn't do that
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Blimey!! Is it that bad for RT Spraying...???
I looked at my ageing sprayer last year and for the few acres of grassland and Stewardship I am spraying on the cost of a service and MOT was such that I went out and bought a new Polish cheapie sprayer. Horrible thing, but cheap as chips, and good for a few years now A couple of little mods to improve the booms have been done, and maybe an electric on/off valve this time. As for the CPD stuff, a few days out to a Show every month and you'll be sorted! What you will actually learn and knowledge you will aquire that will make you spray in a different manner, I do question!
I used to be scrupulous at keeping up with my CPD, and then realised it had no benefit whatsoever... No FA here, just working within the law.
Red tractor isn't popular with farmers but the problem is, they don't seem concerned by that. In any other business if you are unpopular with the people that finance your operation you would have big problems but they make no effort at all to have any sort of dialogue to see why farmers are so disheartened at what should really be a good thing.
Tamar
Member
It comes down to the fact the organisation that says it represents farmers interests, is actually a part owner of the scheme that farmers detest.
Conflict of interests !!
But with a simple solution............... don't join either.
Problem sorted !!
Princess Pooper
Member
- Location
- East Mids
I would add that our last 2 Red Tractor dairy audits have been passed with no non-compliances which shows that we know exactly what we need to do, but I know perfectly well that with a spot visit would not always pass, but it wouldn't be an animal welfare failure.
That's the point - animal welfare and food safety does and MUST come first so it's the other bits that get pushed back when there just aren't enough hours in the day.
Northeastfarmer
Member
- Location
- Cleveland
How was she...
ollie989898
Member
I wouldn't be so anti-red tractor if it actually meant something and added value to the product at the farm-gate. It means jackshit. You aren't going to be paid more for your finished beef or lamb because one of your team has been on a medicines course.
Monday
- Location
- North Wales
I think it needs calling more ' Assured British Food'little red tractor, what a poor name, who identifies with that ?
should be called something like .. 'Assured Homegrown Produce' with an appropriate flag or name in big letters at least of of the Country it was produced in....no excuse now we're on our way out of the EU.
We all recognise the term produce but to the customer it's 'Food'. Let them know that the food there eating is British and assured.
- Location
- East yorks
The medicine one is a recommendation I think for beef at the moment
So you want an assurance scheme that is based on being compliant with the law and no more? There already is one. It's called "The law".
An assurance scheme has to be better than that surely? The fact that most agricultural assurance schemes demand little more than the law is telling of the attitudes of many farmers. That said, as I've said before, I meet a lot of farmers who'd like to raise the game. TTF seems to attract posts from those that like the easy life......
- Location
- Montgomeryshire
Out of interest, did you meet those ‘farmers who’d like to raise the game’ while you were inspecting? I would guess most farmers show a very different face to the inspector, to the one they show as soon as they close the door, just after cheerily waving the assessor off.
Lol. No, never done assurance inspections. As I've said on here lots before, I have done RPA inspections in the past, as a self employed contractor. I'm on farms of all sorts at the minute. Some good, some brilliant, some mediocre, some shockingly bad. Those on here that seem scared of being assessed/ compared shouldn't be. The really bad guys aren't on TFF. Although the most vocal ones are.......Out of interest, did you meet those ‘farmers who’d like to raise the game’ while you were inspecting? I would guess most farmers show a very different face to the inspector, to the one they show as soon as they close the door, just after cheerily waving the assessor off.