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Quality assurance audits by video calls with inspectors are likely to become compulsory for Red Tractor participants, according to newly published scheme guidance. It follows on from the suspension of all farm audits last month due to coronavirus restrictions on travel and social distancing.
A trial of remote inspections has been ongoing for the past three weeks and includes the dairy, pigs, poultry and cereals quality assurance schemes.
“We are upscaling our rollout to ensure this new protocol is properly tested, following which we will review. It is likely remote assessments will then be compulsory,” guidance from Red Tractor states.
On enquiry, a Red Tractor spokesperson said that trials in NI are still at an early stage. “We have trialled a few remote inspections in NI, but we are not in the position to roll out the protocol yet,” the spokesperson said.
Scheme participants have two options for the remote inspections. Farmers can choose to upload relevant documents to an online portal and this is then followed by a video call with an inspector for “visual assessment” of different areas of the farm.
The second option is a full live streamed assessment where no documents are submitted in advance and the entire audit is conducted by video call. “The assessor will direct the member to the areas of the farm that need to be observed and will request sight of relevant business documentation,” Red Tractor guidance states.
The Red Tractor quality assurance schemes for dairy, pigs, poultry and cereals are UK-wide initiatives. The NI beef and lamb farm quality assurance scheme is separate and is not part of the remote inspection trial.
In a statement, Red Tractor chief executive Jim Moseley said that the introduction of remote inspections was needed to “maintain the integrity” of the scheme.
Red Tractor continues to be subject to criticism from animal welfare campaigners in Britain who argue that farm audits do not go far enough. It was the main factor that led to the introduction of unannounced inspections for scheme participants in late 2018.
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