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Source: Red Tractor

The priorities have been developed by Red Tractor’s sector boards and will guide improvements to the scheme

Red Tractor has published priorities for delivering improvements in each farming sector.

The priorities have been developed by Red Tractor’s sector boards and will guide improvements to the scheme.

The organisation said it marked an important step in its ongoing commitments to greater transparency and delivering positive, tangible change for UK farmers and growers.

Each sector area has specific priorities. However, the review has focused on core themes including removing superfluous standards and audit points, reviewing the assessment cycle, making use of third-party data and providing a clear rationale for standards.

“By setting out these priorities, we’re giving stakeholders, including farmers and growers, a clear view of the direction of travel in each farming sector and providing an early opportunity for feedback,” said Alistair Mackintosh, chair of Red Tractor.

“The collective focus of the review is to support reduction of unnecessary audit burden, delivering efficiency while maintaining rigour and ensuring that every audit point helps farmers to demonstrate due diligence or meet their customers’ expectations.”

These priorities sit alongside wider improvements already in progress including the Red Tractor portal, communications and assessor training, it said.

This comes as earlier this year, Red Tractor pledged to improve communications with farmers and reduce the audit burden following a Farm Assurance Review. It accepted nine of its strategic recommendations. 

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“Farmers and growers have asked for greater transparency and clearer opportunities to have their say, and this is what we aim to achieve,” said Mackintosh. “Feedback at this early stage will help shape the work that follows.”

The Technical Advisory Committees will take on the next phase of the work and will “explore options, test practicality and develop proposals that reflect both the objectives set by the sector boards and the realities of on-farm delivery”.

All stakeholders have been invited to share feedback by 1 February 2026.

Further opportunities to comment on draft standards will take place during 2026, before final, UKAS-accredited standards are published and implemented in 2027.

Last week, Red Tractor launched new modules to its Red Tractor Pigs Scheme – Enhanced Welfare Outdoor Bred and Free Range. The two modules will be accompanied by on-pack logos to help Red Tractor-assured pig producers and Red Tractor-licensed food businesses clearly communicate higher animal welfare inputs to shoppers.

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