Red Tractor will consult next year on proposals to improve its farm standards, with a view to streamlining assessments, reducing the audit burden and ensuring standards remain relevant to the farming sectors they support.
The planned changes across the assurance scheme’s sectors follow the recommendations made in the UK farm assurance review at the start of 2025.
The Pigs Sector Board — made up of producers, processors, vets, and retailers — has identified the objectives and priorities for improving the Pigs Scheme, which the industry has been invited to comment on.
Key actions for the Pigs Sector Board and Technical Advisory Committee include:
- Finalise and launch the Enhanced Welfare Outdoor Bred module for pig producers, as recently announced.
- Agree long-term aspirations on key topics, for example, farrowing, stocking, slurry management & sustainability, and welfare outcome assessments.
- Review existing standard content to capture rationale and identify appropriate level of review required
- Trial the use of digital Quarterly Vet Reviews to improve efficiency and data availability.
The Board has also identified the following priorities:
- Maintain a community of trusted producers
- Keep farms aligned with evolving regulations and support future planning
- Develop meaningful standards that reflect customer and consumer expectations, especially around welfare
- Protect industry reputation with new approaches that complement existing strengths
- Reduce audit burden and reward compliance
- Provide modular audit options
- Avoid mission creep by keeping standards focused and relevant
- Maintain a positive relationship with grassroots producers, especially in Bed & Breakfast farm models.
The aim will be to propose updates for stakeholder comment in 2026, with a view to implementing improvements, following UKAS approval, in 2027. This work will be delivered alongside Red Tractor-wide operational improvements, such as assessor training and improved use of technology and communications, the assurance scheme said.
As a first step, all stakeholders are invited to share feedback on these objectives and existing standards until 1 February 2026. This can be done HERE.
The Pigs Board has also set out a ‘longer-term focus’ between 2027 and 2030:
- Refresh standards based on sector needs
- Develop and integrate outcome measures
- Explore how farm profiling can inform risk management
- Transition a more risk-based assessment delivery model
- Explore opportunities to increase modular options based upon stakeholder priorities e.g. environment, indoor enhanced welfare
- Technological solutions such as live monitoring and AI.
Take the sector with us
Red Tractor Pigs Sector Board chair Stewart Houston said the board was determined to ‘take the pig sector with it’ on any changes that are made. “We don’t want to be imposing extra standards without there being a benefit to producers,” he said.
Commenting on the wider review of standards, Red Tractor chair Alistair Mackintosh said: “By setting out these priorities, we’re giving stakeholders, including farmers and growers, a clear view of the direction of travel in each farming sector and providing an early opportunity for feedback.
“The collective focus of the review is to support reduction of unnecessary audit burden, delivering efficiency while maintaining rigour and ensuring that every audit point helps farmers to demonstrate due diligence or meet their customers’ expectations.”
Each Sector Board will continue to oversee the review process, using their collective knowledge to consider the specific needs and pressures facing their sector.
“The TACs role is to explore options, test practicality and develop proposals that reflect both the objectives set by the Sector Boards and the realities of on-farm delivery,” he said.
“Farmers and growers have asked for greater transparency and clearer opportunities to have their say, and this is what we aim to achieve. Feedback at this early stage will help shape the work that follows.”
- You can see more here: www.redtractor.org.uk/improvements.