Digging into the detail – Our response to the Farm Assurance Review webinar on 28 April 2025
The webinar provided a valuable platform for farmers to engage directly with representatives from Red Tractor.
During the session, Red Tractor addressed a range of questions from farmers, covering topics such as farmer representation, import equivalance and the value of Red Tractor membership.
The Q&A was led by Hugh Broom, an indepedent farmer and journalist, who put Members’ questions to the panel.
Watch the webinar
Answers to questions asked during the webinar on 28 April 2025
What is Red Tractor doing to ensure farmers’ voices are heard in decision-making?
Listen to a recording from Philippa Wiltshire, Director of Operations at Red Tractor >
Farmers already have a vital role in inputting into Red Tractor’s decision-making process via representation on our Board, Sector Boards and Technical Advisory Committees. However, we acknowledge that more can be done to ensure that farmers feel consulted and listened to, and able to influence the decision-making process. We’re totally committed to reviewing farmer involvement in both the standards review process and consultation. To do this we’re:
- Reviewing Sector Board Terms of Reference: We’re reviewing the Sector Board Terms of Reference that cover the structure of each of our Sector Boards, how the members are recruited and appointed, and their duties to represent the sector. The results of this review will be published in July.
- Exploring ways to improve feedback to farmers: We’re also reviewing how farmer representatives cascade information from Red Tractor to farmers and the wider industry, to share what is being discussed by the Sector Boards more transparently, engaging with the wider farming community. We’re currently speaking to existing farmer representatives on our Sector Boards and farming trade bodies about how we can get better at sharing information.
- Considering farmer focus groups: We’re looking at the potential for an independent farmer focus group or panel where we can seek views from farmers on the ground about the way Red Tractor works and some of our standards.
To conclude, farmer involvement in Red Tractor is absolutely under review and will be vitally important to the future. As in our response to the Farm Assurance Review, we’ve committed to provide further update on these efforts in July.