Written by Eva Osborne-Sherlock from Agriland
Red Tractor Assurance has today (Friday, March 22) announced that it is dropping its Greener Farms Commitment (GFC) module following “feedback from its members”.
The module has faced criticism from many farming unions, with the National Farmers’ Union of Scotland (NFUS) stating that it would need a “complete rethink” to work for the farming community.
Red Tractor said the module was developed to help farmers, processors and retailers meet the growing need for all to demonstrate sustainability, but in “a single, practical and consistent way”.
However, the AFS board of Red Tractor said it will discontinue the module due to concerns surrounding its impact on farmers across the UK.
Chair of Red Tractor, Christine Tacon, said that, while the module had been conceived with the best of intentions, errors have been made.
“We take responsibility for those issues and are sorry. We hope that by dropping the module, we can close the door on this chapter and move forward,” she said.
“We will only be involved in future environmental standards when all constituencies across the UK food and farming chain, by sector, ask us to and with full consultation.”
Red Tractor’s AFS board also said it accepts the conclusions of the Campbell Tickell review of Red Tractor’s governance.
The board confirmed its commitment to implement all the recommendations.
The review, commissioned by the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) and conducted by Campbell Tickell, was published last month.
“Whilst the review found that ‘Red Tractor governance is sound’, it also sent a clear message about the frustration farmers are feeling,” Tacon continued.
“We will listen more closely to our farmers, for example, Red Tractor has previously found that transparency, audit burden and value are farmers’ top concerns with Red Tractor.
“Significant efforts are already underway to tackle these, which you will hear more about in the next few months.”
The report made recommendations to improve the governance of Red Tractor. It urges that, alongside governance changes, Red Tractor makes a sustained effort to communicate its purpose and engage further with scheme members.
Some of the review’s recommendations to Red Tractor included:
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The module has faced criticism from many farming unions, with the National Farmers’ Union of Scotland (NFUS) stating that it would need a “complete rethink” to work for the farming community.
Red Tractor said the module was developed to help farmers, processors and retailers meet the growing need for all to demonstrate sustainability, but in “a single, practical and consistent way”.
However, the AFS board of Red Tractor said it will discontinue the module due to concerns surrounding its impact on farmers across the UK.
Chair of Red Tractor, Christine Tacon, said that, while the module had been conceived with the best of intentions, errors have been made.
“We take responsibility for those issues and are sorry. We hope that by dropping the module, we can close the door on this chapter and move forward,” she said.
“We will only be involved in future environmental standards when all constituencies across the UK food and farming chain, by sector, ask us to and with full consultation.”
Governance review
Red Tractor’s AFS board also said it accepts the conclusions of the Campbell Tickell review of Red Tractor’s governance.
The board confirmed its commitment to implement all the recommendations.
The review, commissioned by the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) and conducted by Campbell Tickell, was published last month.
“Whilst the review found that ‘Red Tractor governance is sound’, it also sent a clear message about the frustration farmers are feeling,” Tacon continued.
“We will listen more closely to our farmers, for example, Red Tractor has previously found that transparency, audit burden and value are farmers’ top concerns with Red Tractor.
“Significant efforts are already underway to tackle these, which you will hear more about in the next few months.”
The report made recommendations to improve the governance of Red Tractor. It urges that, alongside governance changes, Red Tractor makes a sustained effort to communicate its purpose and engage further with scheme members.
Some of the review’s recommendations to Red Tractor included:
- Create and publish of a governance handbook;
- Introduce of a formal process of appraisal for Red Tractor board and committee members;
- Develop and adopt of a board member code of conduct;
- Address stakeholder engagement and relations as a priority.
The post Red Tractor drops Greener Farms Commitment module appeared first on Agriland.co.uk.
Continue reading on the Agriland Website...