Red Tractor Farm Assurance

What does Red Tractor mean for Pig Scheme Members?

Market access:

Red Tractor assurance helps farmers enter the retail supply chains

• Approximately 95% of UK pigs are Red Tractor assured
• Red Tractor scheme provides a definitive set of standards for UK pig production and all major retailers require it

Animal Welfare:

 UK pig industry has world-class welfare standards thanks to Red Tractor

• Surgical castration not allowed in UK but is routine in EU countries
• Assessments are a handy health check for farm businesses, providing peace of mind that all current legislation is adhered to

Vermin control:

Earned recognition with the Campaign for Responsible Rodenticide use (CRRU) means members do not need to obtain a license or undergo additional training to buy professional-only rodenticides

In light of recent news that LRQA will no longer be offering Red Tractor Farm Certification, it is important to note that your current certificate with LRQA as stipulated by Red Tractor will remain valid in line with your certification cycle.  Red Tractor Pig audits will continue to be conducted by LRQA until 1^st October   (FAQs)

Red Tractor Beef and Lamb scheme provides both consumers and retailers with confidence about product quality attributes including food safety, animal welfare and environmental protection. The assessment covers areas such as animal health, veterinary medicines used, waste management, housing space allowance and vermin control.

A Red Tractor farmer’s land is often their home, and they care about looking after the British countryside which we all know and love. To do this, they are required to maintain a robust set of standards to become Red Tractor assured.  

All Red Tractor grain requires a passport to ensure supply chain traceability. This is part of proving it has met rigorous certified standards and is fully traceable from field to pack. 

Learn more about Red Tractor Combinable Crops and Sugar Beet

Red Tractor Fresh Produce includes protocols for an array of fresh produce crops including fruit, vegetables and salad crops. These protocols are publicly available and are used as a guide to safe food production for the agricultural industry within the United Kingdom and around the globe.

Membership to the Red Tractor Dairy Scheme demonstrates compliance with the standard throughout the process of farm milk production, from hygiene and food safety, through housing and facilities plant and equipment to herd health, animal welfare and stockmanship.

Red Tractor Dairy Goats Standard underpins our industry’s strength and credibility, securing its future as a world-leader in animal health and welfare, while enhancing consumer trust in goat milk’s traceability and safety.  The Standard has been written, reviewed and approved by the Red Tractor dairy goats working group, which is made up of farmer representatives, leading industry experts and supply chain stakeholders.

Red Tractor Livestock Transport focuses on ensuring the traceability of animals continues from the farm gate and that animal welfare is maintained during the journey and all vehicles are cleaned.

The Red Tractor Livestock Market scheme sets out Standards of best practice for livestock markets and is an integral link in the assurance chain for livestock. The standard focuses on ensuring that the traceability of the animals continues and that animal welfare is maintained throughout the duration of the market or collection centre.

Red Tractor Standards for Collection Centres is part of the Red Tractor Food Assurance Scheme assuring food safety, animal welfare, hygiene, environmental protection through every part of the food chain.

The Red Tractor Safe Haven scheme comprises scientifically robust protocols that ensure best practice for seed growing. The Safe Haven scheme also provides additional protection against other harmful organisms like brown rot and soft rots caused by Dickeya species. The scheme ensures that all seed within the scheme is only grown from Safe Haven-sourced seed or disease-free nuclear stock and this helps protect against any pests and diseases not found in Britain which affect potatoes.