The Red Tractor ACCS referendum

Would you leave or remain a Red Tractor ACCS member ?

  • Yes, I would resign my Red Tractor (ACCS) membership and join a new "equal to imports" Scheme

    Votes: 659 96.1%
  • No, I would remain in the Red Tractor scheme

    Votes: 27 3.9%

  • Total voters
    686

Clive

Staff Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Lichfield
The Red Tractor logo or brand does not appear on products that UK cereal growers supply the ingredients for so unquestionably has no value to end consumers of bakery and other cereal products

The processors of these products including the likes of Hovis and Warburtons have stated that they have no requirement for RT assurance and that they use imported ingredients assured to standards lower than Red Tractor yet grain merchants will not accept milling wheat such products contain without a Red Tractor assurance sticker, this places UK growers at a competitive disadvantage to imported equivalents through additional cost incurred in production, membership and compliance with the higher standard


Red Tractor is currently consulting to further gold plate these already OTT standard. It is rumoured that this will, of course, come at significant extra cost

Many of the standard Red Tractor already audits are UK law, enforced and policed by various government agencies, such legislation already ensures our production is to a higher environmental and welfare standard than the import we compete against, Red Tractor members are paying for legislation already enforced as a large part of the existing audit

The UK farmers voice referendum question is simple -

If an alternative scheme, accepted by our merchant buyers, existed that assured to the SAME (but no higher) standard as imported cereals and did not "police" standards already required by UK law-making cereal production significantly cheaper and less onerous would you resign from Red Tracor and join its replacement?
 
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Clive

Staff Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Lichfield
I shan't vote for either as both options given above mean more of the same. Any scheme is a drain on farm resources, unnecessary and just jobs for the same RT boys to move along to.


A level of assurance is required by UK law for imported grain, we could not supply without that, however, most of that "equivalent to import" is covered by UK law already so the "same as" replacement would need to cover VERY little in addition as far as anyone can tell me
 

tullah

Member
Location
Linconshire
A level of assurance is required by UK law for imported grain, we could not supply without that, however, most of that "equivalent to import" is covered by UK law already so the "same as" replacement would need to cover VERY little in addition as far as anyone can tell me

If 90% farms dumped RT and didn't sign up to the "equal to imports" then where would the mills get their supplies?
We could use our clout to stand firm together on this with no compromises and watch them cave in.
 

Clive

Staff Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Lichfield
Looks like there is one RT bod on here then!!!


I'm sure "the question is unfair" "we fixed it" "not many voted" "the question is badly worded" "what about livestock" "what about veg" .................................... and every other single excuse in the book why YOUR opinion as a farmer and RT customer doesn't matter will be made


I've tried to keep its as simple and single issue as possible re ACCS as of all the areas it covers this is the part that really can not claim to have ever added value to a single UK grain sold
 

FarmyStu

Member
Location
NE Lincs
As anyone can vote, so long as they're a member of this forum, this is pointless isn't it? People have already stated that they have voted despite not being in RT. Am I missing something?
 

Clive

Staff Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Lichfield
As anyone can vote, so long as they're a member of this forum, this is pointless isn't it? People have already stated that they have voted despite not being in RT. Am I missing something?


it's never pointless to ask an opinion, I'm not claiming this is some sort of regulated vote independently audited etc, its is simply what it is, a chance to express your opinion on this


the alternative is we let them tell us what we think .................... how independent or valid is that
 

DiversificationDiverson

Member
Mixed Farmer
it's never pointless to ask an opinion, I'm not claiming this is some sort of regulated vote independently audited etc, its is simply what it is, a chance to express your opinion on this


the alternative is we let them tell us what we think .................... how independent or valid is that
Dont fancy paying and having multiple audits for UFAS, FEMAS and TASCC (that in effect RT is currently doing in one visit on one morning)
 

Clive

Staff Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Lichfield
Dont fancy paying and having multiple audits for UFAS, FEMAS and TASCC (that in effect RT is currently doing in one visit on one morning)

You would need next to nothing audited to be able to supply combinable crops to the same standard as imports (maybe nothing beyond what is law even but I can not find that out despite asking several merchants and processors now) .................. this thread is purposely about ACCS
 

Grass And Grain

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Yorks
From AIC / UFAS...

An alternative acceptable approach for ensuring the safety and legality of non-UK/ Eire combinable crops is outlined below:

The combinable crop must be supplied by a member of an assurance scheme recognized by AIC and
listed in Approved Suppliers above, and the mill must obtain specific evidence from the supplier relating to each purchase regarding all of the following:
a) All pesticides used pre and post-harvest are approved for use in the EU and;
b) All pesticides used pre and post-harvest have been applied both singly and cumulatively at
levels approved for use in the EU; and
c) All storage used (beginning at the point of first collection or storage) meets the standards
required by the AIC TASCC Stores Scheme relating to hygiene and cleaning, pest control and
prevention of contamination"

Fine chance of that happening, and so it would seem that UFAS allows non-UK feeds to be used in a ration that haven't been audited to the same standards as they require from UK producers.
 

SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

  • 0 %

    Votes: 79 43.2%
  • Up to 25%

    Votes: 63 34.4%
  • 25-50%

    Votes: 30 16.4%
  • 50-75%

    Votes: 3 1.6%
  • 75-100%

    Votes: 3 1.6%
  • 100% I’ve had enough of farming!

    Votes: 5 2.7%

Red Tractor drops launch of green farming scheme amid anger from farmers

  • 1,286
  • 1
As reported in Independent


quote: “Red Tractor has confirmed it is dropping plans to launch its green farming assurance standard in April“

read the TFF thread here: https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/gfc-was-to-go-ahead-now-not-going-ahead.405234/
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