Red Tractor - Mass Cancellation

[digger64]

@Clive has hit the nail on the head.

All food is produced to UK standards of food hygiene, environmental laws, animal health and welfare etc.

Farmers can expect (and get) spot or arranged inspections from the Environment Agency, Trading Standards, RPA, Dairy Inspectorate etc. In my experience, these checks are more in-depth and rigorous than anf RT inspection (for the points of law and things that really matter).

This means the food is fit for human consumption, and is produced to high standards.

There are, i think 55-60,000 farmer members of RT. If the average cost is £200 each, that is £11 million gone out of farmers pockets to a protection racket that isn't getting us any premium.

I think as a starting point, we need some farmer representatives who are voted on by the grass root farmer members. Let us decide who our own representatives will be.

I think you realistically you could treble your average cost at least

 

[Drillman]

I have t fully read all of the above so apologies if it’s already been suggested but...


Instead of condemning RT why don’t we turn it on it’s head?

Make the people running the schemes work for there existence for a change?

We’re all (well most of us are) paying customers of various assurance schemes so instead of threatening to walk why not put the scheme providers under pressure and tell them what we want?

Make them work for there living by promoting our assured products properly for a start!

Tell them we want a red tractor advertising campaign to get these premiums we were all promised in the beginning!

They should be shouting about there customers products from the roof tops advertising banners everywhere, buy British beef, lamb milk etc

But they don’t. They just turn up look at paperwork and lighten our wallets. Where is all the money going? Take them to task and make them more transparent in there (lacklustre) actions.

Something I’m sure most if not all farmers would support. Just needs someone more literate than me to get at them.

 

[spin cycle]

is food bought from local butchers and shops inferior to rt?....when we eat out do we ask if it's rt?

if rt was transparent and accountable to it's 'members' i would fully support it but it isn't....as it stands it is little more than a 'smoke screen' for factory/industrial food production ...using thousands of honest farmers as cover....worse still it destroys integrity and encourages lieing

i'm no angel....but i'm honest and i'm out of the rt lie....i feel for you guys that are trapped

 

[FarmyStu]

What standards of qualification and professional integrity would you apply to those employed as inspectors?
Those employed to enforce the law of the land, EHO's Trading Standards etc are subject to the standards of their professional bodies and more important their decisions are subject fo review by the courts. If you dont like what they do you can also go directly to your local councillor or the ombudsman.
It Appears that anyone can walk in off the street and tick boxes for Red Tractor with no sanction or appeal mechanism in place. This in itself leads the organisation open to corrupt practice. I dont know if there are any bent FA inspectors out there but the whole scam is open for abuse includng its manipulation by the vested interests that control it for their own profit.

There is an appeals procedure for RT. You appeal to whichever company conducted the inspection. You can also just leave the scheme.

Inspectors have to be competent to do the job. As far as I know RT inspectors have to pass RT sponsored test and are then graded on the job by their own certification body. But as all they are doing is checking you against written standards it's hardly rocket science. They can't fail you for something that isn't a standard or that isn't wrong in the first place.

 

[colhonk]

Watched a bit of tv with that Chris Tarrent riding around on railways in foreign lands,they were loading a ship with wheat for export at the docks, hundreds of pigeons inside the hold on the wheat eating and sh8ting on it. Where is their scheme inspectors?

 

[7610 super q]

Watched a bit of tv with that Chris Tarrent riding around on railways in foreign lands,they were loading a ship with wheat for export at the docks, hundreds of pigeons inside the hold on the wheat eating and sh8ting on it. Where is their scheme inspectors?

Busy inspecting the depth of crud on outdoor heaps, maybe ?......

 

[Bury the Trash]

is food bought from local butchers and shops inferior to rt?....when we eat out do we ask if it's rt?

no and no.

 

[Northernlights]

Name a job or industry that doesn't have more and more compliance?
The problem is people cant or wont take someone's word that they are doing things correctly because most people don't, despite what they may claim, do things correctly.
It brings about a lot of seemingly useless paper work, but what's the alternative?
No one likes being monitored or checked up on but its a reality for most people. Perhaps its been a bit slow in catching up with farmers?

I am quite happy to be inspected providing I get a price to cover my costs from my produce.My wife is a teacher and has inspectors in the classroom every few years and accepts it as part of the job.But only recently I have had cause to say that to a land agent that they seem to be one of the few professions not to have an inspection process in place especially when they claim to be able to work for landlords and tenants with chinese walls in place

 

[Cornish farmer]

I said I would never have anything to do with RT after the very good farmer next door committed suicide the day before his inspection, I'm not saying RT was the sole reason for him taking his own life but I believe it was the final straw. I now sell all my stock through the local market and usually make the same as assured stock in the same market.

 

[Grass And Grain]

I now sell all my stock through the local market and usually make the same as assured stock in the same market.

Nice one! If everyone did this, then RT would end for livestock within a year. We've done the same thing.

 

[icanshootwell]

Nice one! If everyone did this, then RT would end for livestock within a year. We've done the same thing.

Store cattle sales in Ross makes no difference if your in RD or not.

 

[Tarw Coch]

Store cattle sales in Ross makes no difference if your in RD or not.

It doesn’t seem to make any difference to calf sales either, indeed I can’t think that I’ve ever seen a calf in the market declared as farm assured despite the fact that most of them are from dairy farms which would be, perhaps everyone takes it for granted they are, perhaps no one gives a fig.
Allthough there does seem to be a growing number of calves going straight to collection centres now for contract rearing as there are outlets that won’t touch cattle that have been through a market at any point, they pay a premium and they get the calves but I’m not convinced it’s for the long term good of farmers.

 

[Clive]

It’s grain where they have you by the balls

Impossible to be a Uk milling wheat grower without assurance ......... yet none RT wheat is imported to the same mills to make the same flour and breads etc

The sticker for the passport is what you’re paying for, there is no other value so those stickers work out rather expensive imo

I wonder if it’s actually legal for a buyer to discriminate inconsistently in this way - I might declare myself “gender neutral” then no way anyone will mess me about !

 

[neilo]

Store cattle sales in Ross makes no difference if your in RD or not.

It doesn’t seem to make any difference to calf sales either, indeed I can’t think that I’ve ever seen a calf in the market declared as farm assured despite the fact that most of them are from dairy farms which would be, perhaps everyone takes it for granted they are, perhaps no one gives a fig.

Store cattle and calves all become FA after 60 days residence on their new holding currently, so it doesn't really matter if they are farm assured when they are sold. That's the reason that RT are so keen to bring in Whole Life Assurance, to drag a few more in.

 

[Tarw Coch]

Store cattle and calves all become FA after 60 days residence on their new holding currently, so it doesn't really matter if they are farm assured when they are sold. That's the reason that RT are so keen to bring in Whole Life Assurance, to drag a few more in.

As I mentioned, a premium can currently be obtained taking calves to a collection centre on average calves allthough as with most things in farm assurance nothing touches a flying trade in the market on quality.
I have tried the collection centre route myself but didn’t consider it worthwhile on average as the market is much closer and more convenient plus as I mentioned before, I’m wary of big buisness gaining control.

 

[glasshouse]

It’s grain where they have you by the balls

Impossible to be a Uk milling wheat grower without assurance ......... yet none RT wheat is imported to the same mills to make the same flour and breads etc

The sticker for the passport is what you’re paying for, there is no other value so those stickers work out rather expensive imo

I wonder if it’s actually legal for a buyer to discriminate inconsistently in this way - I might declare myself “gender neutral” then no way anyone will mess me about !

Farm assurance is all about driving the smaller producer out, often driven by large farmer directors of assurance companies.
The british farmers wish to knife his neighbour is something to behold

 

[Henarar]

Farm assurance is all about driving the smaller producer out, often driven by large farmer directors of assurance companies.
The british farmers wish to knife his neighbour is something to behold

well the cost per head or per ton is more for the smaller farmer

 

[Barleymow]

well the cost per head or per ton is more for the smaller farmer

is it though using older cheaper to fix equipment that is paid for has a lot going for it .Dont have the work the ridiculous hours either and spray when its calm

 

[Tarw Coch]

is it though using older cheaper to fix equipment that is paid for has a lot going for it .Dont have the work the ridiculous hours either and spray when its calm

There will be very little difference in price between small and large producers for things like vet plan, parlour testing etc

 

[glasshouse]

is it though using older cheaper to fix equipment that is paid for has a lot going for it .Dont have the work the ridiculous hours either and spray when its calm

The compliance costs more. Not the work