Red Tractor lies again

[wanton dwarf]

But if you ask a consumer if they think it is a good thing that farms are inspected for quality and welfare, I think most would agree it was.

Yes that's correct, normally consumer would say inspecting for quality is a good thing.

However THAT isn't done.

Instead we have a list of pointless bits of paper that have no affect on anything other than the Farmers Wallet & Time.

Let's be straight, if Red Tractor disappeared tomorrow no UK Cereal crops would notice and if anything the crops would be of a better quality because the farmer has more time and money to farm.

 

[wanton dwarf]

I think it proves that it's supermarkets that are the driving force behind much quality assurance requirements. Constantly going on about consumers buying on price misses the point.

It also surely makes those on here who suggest a new "complies with the law" quality standard think twice? Here's a major supermarket stating quite clearly, that RT standards are the minimum they will accept. Ideally they want even more, as they state. So this lower standard that I believe the BFU advocate, would be losing customers from the outset.

What a load of BS.

No consumer even gets to see Cereal crops in their raw form.

There is no "Lower Standard" - having Red Tractor assurance doesn't even mean the crop is edible or even exists. Red Tractor assurance doesn't mean anything other than bits of paper have been generated.

 

[Steevo]

Red Tractor assurance doesn't mean anything other than bits of paper have been generated.

So you could say Red Tractor produce has a greater carbon footprint than non-RT…?

 

[graham mc]

but why would sainsburys not put red tractor on packaging as if its not there they would loose sales?????????

 

[FarmyStu]

but why would sainsburys not put red tractor on packaging as if its not there they would loose sales?????????

They clearly don't think so. Sainsburys has a reputation for supplying to the slightly higher end of the market. Perhaps their consumers trust that they would only supply a quality product. Aldi/Lidl though have a point to prove. They need to persuade consumers that their produce is just as good as anyone elses. Hence you see the RT logo promoted quite heavily by them. Either way, they all want RT produce as a minimum.

 

[principal skinner]

They clearly don't think so. Sainsburys has a reputation for supplying to the slightly higher end of the market. Perhaps their consumers trust that they would only supply a quality product. Aldi/Lidl though have a point to prove. They need to persuade consumers that their produce is just as good as anyone elses. Hence you see the RT logo promoted quite heavily by them. Either way, they all want RT produce as a minimum.

They may want it but don’t pay for it. We do!
I’ve made a point of asking visitors about RT and the overwhelming majority don’t prioritise it when buying food, and most think it means the product is 100% British.

 

[graham mc]

lidl aldi are bad for uk farming they set the price and the rest follow the rest even use there advertising budget to constantly mention aldi and lidl

 

[FarmyStu]

lidl aldi are bad for uk farming they set the price and the rest follow the rest even use there advertising budget to constantly mention aldi and lidl

You want to see "bad for UK farming" just look at @Clive s whingathon on Twitter. Minette Batters promotes farmers and farming then in wades Clive with his badly written "it's all rubbish, it's all a waste of time" tweets. Regularly claiming that every member of TFF is a farmer and they all agree with him. I think he thinks he's this amazing disruptor of the status quo. When he actually comes across as bitter with an over inflated sense of his own influence.

His subject of choice is usually RT.

 

[Humble Village Farmer]

They clearly don't think so. Sainsburys has a reputation for supplying to the slightly higher end of the market. Perhaps their consumers trust that they would only supply a quality product. Aldi/Lidl though have a point to prove. They need to persuade consumers that their produce is just as good as anyone elses. Hence you see the RT logo promoted quite heavily by them. Either way, they all want RT produce as a minimum.

Bollards.

If they really wanted it they would pay. As it is they have it because it's free.

There's no end of evidence that there is no preference for British, imported or anything else, so long as it's cheap: pop a false rustic sounding farm name on the label and away it goes. Union jack, British quality, all bought on price and sold to the unsuspecting consumer.

 

[Martin Holden]

Interesting thread and posts. Perhaps the supermarkets use these accredited logos etc for “ethical marketing reasons”. Food supply crops up in the press all the time and maybe they believe they can differentiate from their competitors by embracing the logo fad. As others have said, i too believe the shopper doesn’t give two hoots about source. Perhaps the NFU ought to buy some supermarkets and have a go based on 100% fresh UK produced product. Rather like a massive farm shop chain?

 

[An Gof]

But NOBODY cares about RT

Minette does

 

[FarmyStu]

Bollards.

If they really wanted it they would pay. As it is they have it because it's free.

There's no end of evidence that there is no preference for British, imported or anything else, so long as it's cheap: pop a false rustic sounding farm name on the label and away it goes. Union jack, British quality, all bought on price and sold to the unsuspecting consumer.

Mcdonalds, Aldi and others regularly promote their use of British produce as a positive. You should be proud that they think it is (I do). But if I were one of their buyers and I read TFF I'd be looking at how to raise the standards on the farms I bought from, as so many on here state that RT doesn't prove anything and is just a paperwork exercise.

 

[Humble Village Farmer]

Have a flick through this thread to see how honest and conscientious our beloved corporate food industry is.

Massive scoop for Farmers Weekly

Credit to Andrew Meredith and his team at Farmers Weekly for stirring up the industry. Absolutely massive scoop here, time to renew my subscription 👍 Wonder if any of it had a RT logo 🤣🤣

thefarmingforum.co.uk

 

[Drillman]

Interesting example. You call it a farce and it is definitely disliked by teachers. Parents on the other hand seem to like knowing the results. Even schools seem to like getting a good pass. Hence the "outstanding" and "good" posters outside them when they get a positive grade. Nobody likes being assessed, hence the dislike by teachers. But the consumers of the education service use the assessment to decide where to send their kids.

In RT's case, the farmers don't like being assessed. But if you ask a consumer if they think it is a good thing that farms are inspected for quality and welfare, I think most would agree it was. Of course, pretty much 100% of RT members pass because that's the only grade, even if they have a few minors to correct first. What would be good would be multiple grades, just like Ofsted. Failing/Pass/Good/Outstanding or similar. Then when you come on here to whinge, the 1st question asked would be "what grade did you get?".

As there is no premium for been a rt member I would suspect the vast majority of farmers would do the bare minimum to get a pass, and gold plating over and above existing UK law would be ignored and A pass no matter how low the min % required would be is all we would strive for.

However like it’s been said many times before if been a rt member got the farmer a worthwhile return on membership for a good score the vast majority of farmers (myself included) would strive to get a good pass to maximise our returns.

All it needs is the rt bosses to go out and negotiate a worthwhile premium for us been members then we would all be happy that our investment in them was worthwhile.

As for the rt logo value from my point of view - I sometimes go into supermarkets for a look round wen the scary finance lady does shopping. Anything we put in the trolley is down to our preferred brands, and meat products we always check country of origin and make sure it’s British. We have never chosen a product because of the rt logo despite been paid up farmer members of their scheme.

 

[principal skinner]

Mcdonalds, Aldi and others regularly promote their use of British produce as a positive. You should be proud that they think it is (I do). But if I were one of their buyers and I read TFF I'd be looking at how to raise the standards on the farms I bought from, as so many on here state that RT doesn't prove anything and is just a paperwork exercise.

Can you honestly see no downside to RT?

 

[FarmyStu]

Can you honestly see no downside to RT?

Yep, there's loads wrong with it. I don't think it's fit for purpose. But it's the main assurance scheme so gets lots of mentions. I'm pro assurance, not pro RT in particular.

 

[Spencer]

Minette does

Would you believe there was a lady working in ASDA with a “Minette” name badge.. Couldn’t resist and asked her for a comment on red tractor? She’d never heard of it, but agreed with my 2yr old that his green tractor was better

 

[Humble Village Farmer]

Yep, there's loads wrong with it. I don't think it's fit for purpose. But it's the main assurance scheme so gets lots of mentions. I'm pro assurance, not pro RT in particular.

UK has the highest standards in the world with loads of ever tightening government regulation. We are doing it anyway. We don't need to waste time and money on a private company for nothing in return.

 

[principal skinner]

Yep, there's loads wrong with it. I don't think it's fit for purpose. But it's the main assurance scheme so gets lots of mentions. I'm pro assurance, not pro RT in particular.

I’m pro assurance but anti RT because of the level of mission creep and costs involved that come directly off my bottom line. Whilst the Twitter conversations etc with Minette and Co seem harsh it seems the only way to get our opinion heard. It’s time for a major push back from the growers I feel, we need a union with a leader voted for by the members ( one member one vote) until that happens I will not consider rejoining. RT need a major rethink, change of leadership and if retailers etc want gold plated standards over and above imports they bloody well pay for them.

 

[kiwi pom]

Well he new you would give him traffic from another country defending something you don't have to do yourself. I haven't read on yet but I bet you respond loads to this post further along supporting this protection racket.

Haven't read past this post but thought I'd comment. I'm not defending it, I'm pointing out Clive was wrong, the add did not mention traceability.
I'm not a farmer so don't really care one way or another. I do think that food production should be monitored to make sure it is done safely, and the corner cutters don't gain an advantage over those doing things properly.
Kiwi farmers don't have RT, although I'm sure they could handle it. Most produce here is produced for a specific customer or market and has plenty of its own hoops to jump through, including the regulations set by the country it's exported too.