Red Tractor appoints Ed Knight as Head of Communications & Engagement

Ed Knight has been appointed as Red Tractor’s new Head of Communications & Membership Engagement.

Ed joins from change communications specialists, My Word Communications and was previously Head of GB Communications at Coca-Cola EuroPacific Partners, and Head of Media Relations at Ofcom.

Red Tractor CEO Jim Moseley said: “I’m delighted to welcome Ed to Red Tractor’s leadership team. He brings us directly relevant experience and the leadership skills to help us continue to improve our communications approach and energise our ongoing efforts to engage with Red Tractor members.”

Ed Knight said: “Red Tractor needs to communicate successfully with a broad range of different stakeholders and audiences. The organisation is at the heart of a sector facing some really important issues and challenges at the moment. I’m excited to get started with the team, and to continue the work of sharing more with members, licensees and consumers about what the Red Tractor logo offers them.

Red Tractor is the UK’s largest food standards scheme covering animal welfare, food safety, traceability, and environmental protection. Every year, Red Tractor assures the entire journey of £14 billion worth of food and drink, right across the supply chain, from farming and transportation to production and packing.

Working with experts in their fields, the programme ensures that families across Britain have access to safe, quality food that has been grown and reared in the UK to rigorous farming standards.

Red Tractor joins Yellow Wellies call to farmers: Take the time to notice others and make the time to talk.

7 February 2023: This week, Red Tractor has been supporting the Farm Safety Foundation’s Mind Your Head campaign, which is now in its sixth year and brings together 300 partners from across the industry to promote the importance of mental health in farming and rural communities. Research by the Farm Safety Foundation has shown that levels of mental health in farming are deteriorating, with 94% of farmers aged 40 and under citing poor mental health as one of the biggest problems facing the industry.

As part of this year’s Mind Your Head week-long campaign, the Foundation has also republished its popular farming mental health guide, The Little Book Of Minding Your Head. Now in its 5^th edition and free to download, the book is a valuable resource produced by The Farm Safety Foundation, detailing mental health conditions, signs to look out for, how to cope if you or someone you know is suffering with their mental health. The book also includes how you can access support across the country.

This year the Mind Your Head campaign has focused on 5 core themes:

It had to be you

Focusing on the isolation felt by farmers and those in rural communities, it is important for everyone to take and make time to notice yourself and others, and to ask each other the question: “Are you ok?”

Be active

This advice is as old as the hills, but the research shows that taking a walk each day can significantly help your mental wellbeing. The benefits range from managing stress and anxiety, clearing your head and improving your ability to problem solve. A daily walk can also improve sleep and increase happiness and self-esteem.

Take notice

Being present in the moment and taking notice of what is around you can help to improve your mental health, whether that be awareness of our own thoughts and feelings or taking notice of those in our community. We recognise that some farmers find it hard to talk, but there are organisations and people available to listen.

Keep Learning

Learning to take care of your mental health is equally as important as your physical health. NHS Research suggests learning new skills can improve your mental wellbeing, by boosting confidence and self-esteem, helping improve your sense of purpose and to connect with others. We can also learn from other industries. For instance, the construction industry has taken great steps in promoting good mental health by working to provide business owners and employees with the skills to take care of their own mental health, and how to identify those around them who may be struggling.

Give

At a time of economic uncertainty, rising living costs and increasing pressures within the industry, it is more important than ever that we work to support good mental health. You can help do this by supporting The Farm Safety Foundation and local rural mental health charities. More information on the core themes of the campaign and support available can be found on the Yellow Wellies website.

For more information and resources on support available to Red Tractor members and farmers, visit our support hub.

17 February 2023: Red Tractor Combinable Crops and Sugar Beet Scheme has retained its Silver benchmark against SAI Platform’s Farm Sustainability Assessment, reducing the audit burden for members and maximising market access. 

SAI Platform numbers some of the world’s most recognisable brands among its membership, including Coca-Cola, Mars, Nestlé, Molson Coors and Unilever. SAI Platform created the Farm Sustainability Assessment as a common benchmark for sustainable farming practice, enabling large, multi-national companies to validate sustainability across global supply chains.

Reflecting increasing demand to deliver products in the most sustainable way, SAI Platform recently uplifted its Farm Sustainability Assessment (FSA 3.0). Despite the uplift, Red Tractor’s Combinable Crops and Sugar Beet Scheme Standards have remained compliant with the Silver benchmark, demonstrating that Red Tractor standards continue to align with consumer demand for sustainability. The confirmation represents unbroken market access for Red Tractor members – particularly those growing sugar beet and malting barley – and continues to negate the requirement for additional non-Red Tractor assessments.

Red Tractor Chief Executive Jim Moseley commented:

“Red Tractor works hard to ensure its own standards are recognised by third party schemes and programmes. This latest confirmation from SAI Platform is brilliant news for growers and builds on last year’s decision by the European Commission to recognise Red Tractor for the Renewable Energy Directive (REDII). So, simply by being Red Tractor Assured, crops and sugar beet members can access all these markets without any additional assessments.”

Nick Morris, Head of Agriculture, British Sugar said:

“We have worked closely with Red Tractor and SAI Platform to support the benchmarking process. SAI is a used by a number of our large customers as part of their buying specifications. This is great news for our sugar beet growers – all of whom are Red Tractor assured – as it means their high standards of production are recognised by both without additional audits and assessments, and we can continue to market their products globally.”

Matt Culley, NFU Crops Board Chair commented:

“UK consumers and businesses want to buy food which is sustainable and contributes to the country’s transition to a low carbon economy. This SAI Platform earned recognition is good news for growers as it minimises audit burden and helps drives domestic and export demand for British grown crops. I am glad to see it follow the UK Flour Millers’ recent endorsement of British Red Tractor assured crops and for assured growers to be getting the recognition they deserve.”

Protecting Your Pigs from African Swine Fever

By: Stewart Houston, Red Tractor Pigs Chairman

As farmers, it’s our responsibility to ensure the health and well-being of the animals in our care. Owners of pigs, including pigs just kept as pets, are being advised to take precautions against African Swine Fever (ASF). Whilst ASF doesn’t affect humans, it is a highly contagious and fatal notifiable disease that is present in parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Mainland Italy has recently confirmed its first ever case of the strain currently circulating in Europe, Asia, and Central America. The risk of ASF reaching the UK has increased:  if it were to arrive here, it would have a devastating impact on the health of our pig population and the domestic and international trade of pigs and pork.

How African swine fever could reach the UK

There are multiple pathways for the introduction of ASF virus to a new area: movement of infected live animals, contaminated equipment, or infectious products. The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) consider the human route (e.g., in passenger luggage, farm workers, etc..) to be the highest risk pathway and the most likely route of entry to the UK, given other mitigating factors. Therefore, the risk of ASF infected pork being brought into the UK via people has been risk assessed as ‘high’, even though the overall risk for all pathways is medium.

The importance of what you feed your pigs

If you have pigs on your farm, even if they are not your primary livelihood, it’s important to follow the latest guidance on how to prevent the spread of ASF. As the ASF virus survives well in uncooked, cured, or frozen meat, one key measure is to make sure you are not feeding your pigs any food waste. It is illegal to feed catering or domestic food waste, including from vegetarian and vegan kitchens, to pigs or wild boar, as there is a risk of spreading disease. This includes kitchen scraps and leftovers, raw or cooked meat, cured, dried, smoked, or frozen meat, fish, and shellfish, and even dog and cat food. Instead, you should feed your pigs specially formulated commercial pig feed and fruit and vegetables that have never entered a domestic or commercial kitchen and haven’t come into contact with products of animal origin such as meat or dairy. You should also avoid leaving food waste in areas where wild boar or feral pigs roam and it is not recommended to provide any supplementary commercial feed for feral pigs or wild boar, to avoid encouraging them.

Good biosecurity and farm workers

Good biosecurity is key to preventing the spread of ASF as well as other diseases to your animals. An important precaution is to ensure that all visitors and farm workers are using dedicated clothing and boots when entering pig premises, and that any vehicles and equipment entering the premises are cleaned and disinfected before and after. If you employ seasonal or workers from abroad, it’s important that they are able to read the biosecurity protocols, which may mean making them available in other languages. It is also crucial to ensure that people who look after or visit your pigs understand the disease risk of bringing back meat products, particularly wild boar meat or pork products, from affected countries. Trade of pork from affected areas in these countries is restricted.  Further advice on how to practice good biosecurity can be found here:  https://www.gov.uk/guidance/disease-prevention-for-livestock-farmers.   AHDB Pork also have some excellent resources on ASF and biosecurity: https://ahdb.org.uk/knowledge-library/biosecurity-on-pig-farms

If you notice that your pigs are looking unwell, it is important to seek veterinary advice promptly.

More information about ASF is available on the Gov.uk page here: African swine fever: how to spot and report the disease – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).   By following these guidelines and being vigilant, you can help protect the health of our pig population and prevent the spread of ASF. Let’s work together to ensure a bright future for pig farming in the UK.

The second Great British Calf Week kicks off on the 16 November

From the 16 November, the dairy industry will come together for the second year in a row to awareness, and celebrate the progress that has been made, to ensure all dairy-bred calves are reared with care.

This is an important opportunity for the whole sector to come together and share they are delivering on its commitment to rearing all calves with care and eliminate the euthanasia of calves by 2023. 

During the week, a range of activities coordinated by AHDB and the NFU will once more serve as a timely reminder of the value and importance of good calf management.

Jenny Gibbons, AHDB’s Animal Health and Welfare Senior Scientist, said: “Breeding economically attractive calves is the starting point, but once the calf is born, ultimately it needs to be given the best start to live and be well cared for so there will also be a focus this year on optimising winter housing to grow healthy calves.

Jemma Holden, Red Tractor’s Dairy Technical Manager, said: “Since 2021, Red Tractor’s standards have required dairy scheme members to have a written breeding and management policy, to encourage responsible breeding strategies for calves. This is an important step to support the industry in meeting its commitments to eliminate the euthanasia of any calves.”

Guidance on how to write a breeding and management policy is available here.