Message from Nick Major, Poultry Sector Chair, Red Tractor
Dear Members,
Our February meeting marked the first session of the new term for the Red Tractor Poultry Sector Board. We now have a mix of experienced and new members around the table, and we are all very conscious that this is a critical period as we work through the next full standards review.
Board members were clear about their priorities. Integrators want to ensure Red Tractor remains fit for purpose and commercially relevant. Processors and retailers are focused on robust, science‑based welfare standards, including the ongoing discussions around the 30kg/m² stocking density limit, and on maintaining trust in the scheme. Producer representatives stressed the need for more consistent audits and for growers to feel that Red Tractor is on their side.
Standards review process – initial learnings and next steps
On strategy, we discussed the feedback received from stakeholders after publishing the priorities we set out for the sector. Responses focused on existing frustrations with rules and paperwork, confirming the Sector Board’s desire to reduce administrative burden on producers and enable assessors to spend more time looking at birds. The separate post‑assessment and sentiment surveys are also helping us to better understand where the challenges and opportunities are. We will also be listening to producers at events such as the Pig & Poultry Fair and SWCA.
The Poultry Technical Advisory Committee (TAC), chaired by Judith Irons, has now begun the poultry standards review, based on the priorities agreed at the end of 2025. The work will be a multi-stage process, starting with a “hygiene” check of existing standards against a broad range of requirements. It’ll then proceed to the detailed redrafting stage. We expect to consult formally on new poultry standards in autumn 2026, with implementation from late 2027. Throughout, changes will need to be evidence‑based and proportionate, maintaining alignment with other sectors so that consumers and customers continue to recognise Red Tractor as a single, trusted mark.
Water quality
We also discussed water quality and Defra’s renewed focus on the topic as it considers new legislation to tackle pollution. While poultry has not been the main focus of Defra’s emerging agricultural pollution legislation, the sector has clearly felt the reputational impact. The Sector Board agreed that Red Tractor should not lead on new environmental requirements – that must remain with government and regulators – but we do need to understand how our standards interact with Environment Agency permitting and nutrient management. We have therefore asked the TAC to review existing soil health and nutrient management requirements for poultry and to explore simple ways of recognising whether farms are permitted and whether RT can support farmers who spread poultry litter on their own land demonstrate that they do it responsibly.
Finally, we reviewed the ongoing improvements to the Red Tractor Member Portal, including geo‑tagged photos and clearer prompts for key documents. The portal will remain voluntary, but we will continue to develop practical tools and work with integrators and software providers to make demonstrating compliance easier.
Our focus remains the same: to maintain high, credible standards that protect the reputation of British poultry, while reducing unnecessary burden and ensuring farmers’ voices are central to every decision.
Best wishes,
Nick Major
Chair, Red Tractor Poultry Sector Board
Poultry Sector Board Members:
- Nick Major – Chair
- Clay Burrows – QBT
- David Gibson – British Poultry Council
- Elena O’Callaghan – Retail
- Gavin Foster – British Poultry Council
- Jonty Hay – NFU
- Keith Warner – Integrator
- Kevin Sketcher – British Poultry Council
- Patrick Hook – NFU
- Viv Harris – British Retail Consortium
- Will Raw – NFU
- Judith Irons – TAC Chair