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Unannounced inspections under the Red Tractor Assurance Scheme will affect around 10% of dairy farmers in NI, Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU) members were told on Wednesday.
Speaking at a meeting in Ballymena, Philippa Wiltshire from Red Tractor said that reports that the new audits could affect 80% of scheme participants in NI were not correct.
“We estimate it to be more like 10%. This is about a minority of farms that need to improve,” she said.
Unannounced inspections will be introduced in the Red Tractor dairy scheme from 1 April for farmers who either have a significant number of non-conformances in a routine audit, or have non-conformances that are deemed to pose a “reputational risk” to the scheme.
Wiltshire would not be drawn on which standards fall into this category and instead said that all standards are equally important to passing an inspection.
“We would like to see it on paper. Where are these standards that carry reputational risk?” asked meeting chair and UFU deputy president Victor Chestnutt.
A number of issues were raised by Chestnutt throughout the meeting, including why Red Tractor estimates that only around 5% of dairy farmers in Britain will be subject to unannounced inspections, compared with 10% in NI.
He also suggested that farmers should get at least a one-day warning ahead of a follow-up inspection.
Wiltshire responded by stating that farmers will be asked to give details of times that will usually suit them for an announced inspection.
Certification
There are four certification bodies for Red Tractor in Britain and one in NI, namely NI Food Chain Certification (NIFCC). Wiltshire said that the cost of unannounced inspections will be set by individual bodies and will be charged to the farmer, so that other scheme participants are not subsidising it through membership fees.
She said that in the Red Tractor pig scheme unannounced inspection fees currently range from £230 to £400, and added that it is not a full audit, but rather a spot check on certain issues.
Discontent
During the meeting there were some angry interventions from the floor, with several farmers expressing discontent that Red Tractor was originally introduced as a voluntary scheme for bonus payments, but most processors now give substantial penalties to non-participants.
One farmer said that literacy problems among some farmers makes it difficult to meet scheme requirements, and he suggested that Red Tractor should do more to help farmers be compliant.
Others raised issues with the time and cost associated with meeting Red Tractor standards, and some questioned the value of the scheme for farmers.
“If Red Tractor did not exist, your customers would be setting standards and doing inspections. The standards would be considerably higher than they are now,” Wiltshire responded.
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