The animal feed sector, milling, malting, biofuels sectors and British Sugar account for around 95% of the market demand for combinable crops. Red Tractor delivers a clear and consistent industry benchmark, and stakeholders have been voicing their support for the benefits of a single set of standards for the sector and the market access that this offers to farmers.
Joe Brennan, UK Flour Millers Technical Manager said ‘The Red Tractor crops scheme is well understood and has excellent compliance rates. Unlike in other countries, the scheme is developed with significant farmer input, ensuring it reflects real farm practice.’ He added ’If a farmer wishes to sell unassured grain to a UK flour mill, they will need to provide agrochemical and mycotoxin test results for at least every 200 tonnes of grain drawn from the same bulk, at their own expense. This is clearly a less efficient means of providing assurance and it is no wonder that Red Tractor is well supported by processors.’
British Sugar believes that by working with Red Tractor, they are driving sustainable agriculture that promotes best practice, embraces creating a quality product and ensures safety in the efficient production of sugar beet. The recent confirmation that the crops scheme has retained its Silver benchmark from SAI Platform’s Farm Sustainability Assessment, is critical to this relationship.
Nick Morris, Head of Agriculture at British Sugar said: ‘We have worked closely with Red Tractor and SAI Platform to support the benchmarking process. SAI Platform is used by several of our large customers as part of their buying specifications. This is great news for our sugar beet growers – all of whom are Red Tractor assured – as it means their high standards of production are recognised by both without additional audits and assessments, and we can continue to market their products globally.’
Angela Bowden, Secretary General at SCOPA said ‘SCOPA has been involved with Red Tractor assurance since its inception and values the role of their standards in providing a simple scheme for suppliers to meet the safety and environmental demands of the market. All domestic oilseed rape bought by SCOPA crushers is Red Tractor assured and our preference will always be for UK produced seed when this is available.’
Brin Hughes, representing BOBMA said ‘BOBMA recognises the importance of Red Tractor Standards in providing a robust scheme that balances grower input with industry requirements for safety, traceability and sustainability.’
