There is still “room for improvement” in the farm assurance system, an independent review’s final report has found.
The cross-sector Farm Assurance Review’s commissioner David Llewellyn this week said the probe into the UK’s certification framework had acted as a “catalyst for change” but said “there remains more work to be done”.
First published in January 2025 following Red Tractor’s aborted launch of a controversial sustainability module, the review included nine strategic recommendations and 56 operational recommendations to reform farm assurance schemes.
The latest monitoring report, which set out the progress being made against its recommendations, included participation from 33 organisations, which Llewellyn argued showed “there is still a commitment, in time, to change the nature and delivery of farm assurance”.
The review found there were two key topics that remain to be resolved including how farm assurance operates for the crop sector.
At the moment “there remains a strong view in this sector that there is not a level playing field for UK farmers when competing with imported products and their efforts through the assurance system get lost further along the supply chain”.
The other topic concerned establishing an agreement about environmental measures for farming outside the farm assurance system, as there is currently a “vacuum on this issue”.
The review said that this topic must remain “an urgent priority for industry representatives” to ensure greater clarity and coordination can be provided on what is expected from farm businesses and how on-farm environmental improvements and reporting of performance are to be fairly resourced.
The UK main farming unions including the NFU, NFU Scotland, NFU Cymru and the Ulster Farmers’ Union said good progress had been made and that the review marked a “vital reset moment”.
However, they agreed there were several areas that “still require urgent action”. The unions called for an industry-led approach to environmental measurement to ensure “reporting has a clear purpose, provides genuine value and involves farmers and growers from day one”.
They added that issues within the combinable crops sector need to be addressed, with “structural changes urgently needed to abandon the one-size-fits-all approach and lift the unsustainable audit burden on our growers”.
“Government also needs to urgently step up and recognise the value of farm assurance and its role in providing high-quality, British food,” the unions added. “It must ensure that our farmers and growers are not unfairly forced to compete with imported products that would be illegal to produce here, and establish the fair, transparent marketplace our farmers and growers deserve.”
Red Tractor also welcomed the report, adding it had “introduced changes and improved technology to reduce the audit burden, begun a comprehensive reset of standards across all sectors and overhauled how it communicates with farmers”.
However, its chair Alistair Mackintosh echoed that there was “more to do”.
“Our response to the FAR is part of a long-term commitment to ensuring Red Tractor embeds a more transparent approach, particularly for farmers who must feel represented, listened to and informed,” he added. “We want to restore a sense of pride in British farming standards.”
Red Tractor has launched a new website with more information for farmers, improved opportunities for farmers to share feedback, the introduction of greater collaboration with other assurance schemes to reduce the need for multiple audits, and new sector-specific modules for pigs and fresh produce. It has also invested in its member portal and strengthened engagement with certification bodies, and has reviewed and renewed its core policies, among other changes.
“The Farm Assurance Review gave a clear steer that assurance needed to result in assurance schemes that worked for both the producer and the consumer, as well as being simple to administer and deliver at farm level,” said NFU director general Sophie Throup. “It’s important that farmers have a strong voice in assurance with a clear and transparent decision-making process which benefits all. I welcome the progress and positive changes made to date.”
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