Farm assurance premium

[DrWazzock]

Yea Jim says RT ismarvellous, valued by Joe Public, insisted on by feed mills, extremely important to have audited assurance, RT produce promoted to purchasers by RT etc.

But who doesn't insist on using only RT grain? When it comes down to it, who doesn't value it?

RT themselves!

They allow non-assured imports to be fed to RT livestock.

That's the sort of muddle RT/AIC have got themselves into when they allow double standards.

RT are hypocrites.

They actually allow grain treated with pesticides banned in the UK, to be fed to their RT livestock. Paraquat, neonics, linuron, IPU, ctl, atrazine etc.

And then expect us to agree that taking a sample from a boat assures the grain, even though 1,000 lorry loads from as many different farms filled the boat. And none of those lorry loads were individually tested for pesticides.

Come on RT. If RT or equivalent schemes are so important and so valued, why don't you only allow audited assured grain to be fed to your RT branded livestock?

Or more to the point, why won't you also allow non-assured UK grain to be fed to the RT livestock?

Oh, I've just realised. It's so you get your farmer member fees isn't it? No other reason. Can't be any other reason, because you allow non-assured imports.

You have hit the nail on the head there. The scheme is manipulated to suit the trade and fit the way they work using imports etc even though we know those imports aren’t to the same standard on many levels.

 

[DrWazzock]

The other thing that annoys me is the monopoly of the inspection agencies. What choice is there? Why can’t I go round farms as an independent self employed inspector awarding RT membership provided I can see the standards are met? Why is it just certain companies who seem to have rights to do this? Another cartel.

 

[Grass And Grain]

As for the original question, I would say we need to start at a 5p premium for assured and 10p premium for elite assured beef and lamb.

Once all three levels were accepted the market would adjust the premiums up or down, Red Tractor would have to promote their brand properly or there would be no premium worth the hassle and most of us would choose to go non assured. If the public value Red Tractor as much as we are told then the premium would mean we think it's worth our while to be assured.

The problem is that it would probably need legislation or mass withdrawal to get there.

Similar with grain. Doesn't just want to cover the extra cost of being assured, but needs to pay a premium price for the premium product. 10% wouldn't be unreasonable.

If AIC removed the RT requirement for UK grain into feed mills, then we'd see if feed mills would pay a premium. But they won't, because they'd be worried there'd be NO premium paid by the feed mills.

 

[egbert]

There are plenty of threads discussing Red Tractor and it is well documented that the vast majority of farmers join through compulsion because there is no premium.
When freedom foods assurance started, a couple hours extra work to show I was complying with legal requirements, was fine to earn a 5p/ kg d/w premium.

The requirements and costs have grown considerably and the premium has disappeared so what I would appreciate in this thread is knowing what premium you would want to make the RT standards starting in November worth doing given the choice.

I would love to hear from every sector. There are no wrong or right answers as everyone will value their time etc. differently and it depends hugely on the quantities you sell.

The only justification we have is the cull cow abattoir insists.
There are alternatives, but I don't know what they pay.
In fact i don't care....they're too far away for me to be sending old girls -who've served me for a decade or more -on such a journey.

It is a scam of the highest water as far as I can see.
just another stick to beat us with....and we invented it.

 

[Steevo]

As for the original question, I would say we need to start at a 5p premium for assured and 10p premium for elite assured beef and lamb.

Once all three levels were accepted the market would adjust the premiums up or down, Red Tractor would have to promote their brand properly or there would be no premium worth the hassle and most of us would choose to go non assured. If the public value Red Tractor as much as we are told then the premium would mean we think it's worth our while to be assured.

The problem is that it would probably need legislation or mass withdrawal to get there.

I paid £10/kg for a joint of beef from a local producer last week which we ate for Sunday lunch yesterday. Very nice it was too, albeit obviously one of the cheaper cuts they do.

Reading your post asking for 5p/kg “premium” brings it all into perspective. It’s an absolute pittance.

 

[nick...]

This will get more annoying when they get our mass balance figures to sell to the trade so they will then know how much wheat is in uk and no doubt dictate prices to suit themselves
nick…

 

[Jackov Altraids]

I think although what we've done has probably contributed to the scrapping of vast majority of proposed new RT rules (in the consultation), we're not done yet. Far from it.

On the grain side of things, we'll keep on pressing for equivalent standards.

If we don't get what we want, then I think @Jackov Altraids understands what needa to be done. New, competing scheme, run by farmers for farmers. Everyone bins RT, joins the new farmer owned scheme. Then we slowly tear out the pages of the rule book one by one. We take control.

Big job, but no reason why it's not achievable.

Nobody, in any job, likes being inspected.
Rather than just have a general dislike of RT, I started this thread in the hope that as many people as possible would take a long hard review of what the financial implications of being RT assured is.
If people are genuinely finding that it is costing them £4 a ton for example, it would be cheaper and easier to set up a self-cert assurance at a £2 discount[and be £2/ton better off] and open up a market for non-RT. I would imagine the discount would need to last about the same length of time as the premium did.

If not enough people think RT costs enough to offer a discount, then I rather think there is no hope of getting enough people together to make any change.

It is vital that farmers do these calculations and know their positions before good people put a lot of time and energy devising an alternative scheme and not get the support they need.

 

[Humble Village Farmer]

I do think we have to be careful what we wish for... I suspect most who have had an inspection by one of the government bodies like Natural England the Environment Agency or the HSE would have far rather faced a farm assurance inspection.

That's the point though isn't it. Your red tractor review isn't really an inspection. It's filling in a form in such a way that no further questions are needed.

If we want to maintain and prove our high standards, they need proper scrutiny by someone who actually gives a toss.

It's the same psychology as drink driving. Nobody does it. The main reason being the inspector has considerable powers if he catches you.

Red tractor does not ensure higher standards of production.