Dairy Sector Chair Update - Spring 2024

Dear Dairy Scheme Member,

Red Tractor’s Dairy Board met in London recently, I want to share some updates and insights from the meeting.

Working on your behalf: After what has been a challenging time for Red Tractor, the meeting offered a chance for the board to advance our plans to strengthen the focus on transparency, audit efficiency, and value. The board received an update from CEO Jim Moseley on the progress in actioning the recommendations from the Campbell Tickell report into the governance of Red Tractor. Central to the discussion that followed was the pivotal role of devolved representation in the dairy sector. The discussion emphasised the critical significance of ensuring regional voices are heard and adequately represented in the Red Tractor decision-making processes. This recognition underscores the unique challenges faced by different regions within the sector. I am pleased to have representatives already from UFU and NFU Scotland and hope to have a Welsh farming representative at the next meeting.

Communicating with our Members: Red Tractor acknowledges the need to reconnect with its members and the board received a plan to ramp up member facing communications with the intention of addressing any misunderstandings, transparency around setting standards and the benefits of membership of the scheme.

Increasing audit efficiency: We’re working on resetting our relationship with you by actively listening and addressing your concerns, especially regarding audit efficiency. A lively discussion took place on exploring more effective ways to achieve this within our sector, and we look forward to turning it into a clear strategy that the industry can support us with.

Best regards, Tim, Red Tractor, Dairy Sector Chair