Following consultation earlier this year, Red Tractor has made amendments to its Version 5 Standards for the five different sectors.
The majority of the proposed environmental standards have been put on hold until legislation on environmental protection in Wales and England has been finalised.
Nitrogen fertiliser will need to be stored safely and out of sight, rather than locked indoors as originally proposed, and producers will be required to document up to date slurry storage calculations.
In terms of personnel, new staff will be required to receive an induction, which will have to be documented, including an explanation of health and safety policies and management reporting lines. All farms must also need a written health and safety policy.
The personnel and environmental standards which have not been included in the revised Version 5 standards have become ‘modular’ standards which will allow for the producer and processor or milk buyer to agree on which ones they wish to include as part of their farm assurance.
For animal medicines, one member of staff will be required to undertake animal medicines training and be noted in the farm training records, however, it can be ‘funneled’ to other members of staff and documented.
Tethering housing systems will not be permitted on Red Tractor farms but the use for management practices will be allowed, although those who use tethering housing systems can apply for a derogation from Red Tractor before the 1st November 2021.
Eradicating BVD as detailed in the health plan is already a full requirement for dairy producers but will remain a recommendation for beef farmers for the time being until it becomes a full standard in October 2022.
The requirement to upload antibiotic usage onto the AHDB Medicine Hub has also been removed as it is still in development, although it may become a recommendation in April 2022.
The revised standards can be found here: https://assurance.redtractor.org.uk/red-tractor-review-2021?o=alphabetical