The Red Tractor Board met on Friday 28 November. On the agenda were:
- Agreeing strategies for delivering improvements in each farming sector
- Growing pressure on agriculture from environmental campaign groups and regulators
- Engaging with farmers in face-to-face meetings.
At the start of the meeting, I was pleased to report on encouraging feedback I’ve received from NFU Council members, the commissioners of the Farm Assurance Review and members. Red Tractor has also seen positive collaboration with the Food Standards Agency and Trading Standards and has been invited to present at the UN Industrial Development Organization on our role supporting British agriculture. We are however mindful of the increasing pressure on everyone in the supply chain from environmental and animal welfare campaign groups which threaten the reputation of the industry as well as the Red Tractor logo. On animal welfare these serve as a reminder of the importance of compliance – something we are working with industry partners to reinforce.
Improving farm standards and audits
In the months running up to the Board meeting, Sector Boards – which include representatives from across the supply chain – have been working collaboratively to develop sector-specific technical strategies which deliver improvements specific to their sectors. The objectives and priorities in these working strategies have been developed by all members of the relevant Sector Boards and will guide its activities over the coming months and years with the support of Technical Advisory Committees (TACs).
All sectors have a common aim to harness new technologies, data and stakeholder input to streamline assessments, support the reduction of audit burden, and maintain customer confidence – while ensuring standards remain relevant to the farming sectors they serve.
The Board discussed the nuances and approaches of each sector and supported the initial priorities agreed by the Sector Boards, although they’ve asked the Sector Boards to consider the issue of water quality. The Board gave the go ahead for TACs to complete detailed reviews of standards in 2026.
It was noted that these technical improvements will be delivered alongside the wider operational improvements already underway including improvements to Red Tractor’s governance, communications and use of technology.
Communicating objectives and priorities
The Board then discussed the process for communicating these shared objectives, upholding its commitment to provide opportunities for stakeholder feedback, ensuring that stakeholders feel listened to throughout the standards review process. As a result the Board agreed to publish a summary of the objectives for each sector on 8 December with opportunities for feedback until 1 February 2026. Following this there will be further opportunities to feedback on proposals for detailed changes to standards.
Role on environmental assurance
The Board debated the role that Red Tractor plays in supporting the industry to meet environmental regulations and commitments. It was widely recognised that there is increasing pressure on the whole supply chain, including retailers, growers and farmers, to demonstrate their environmental compliance and to reduce adverse impacts. Water pollution was recognised as one of the most pressing issues that requires further discussion. As a result, the Board has asked Sector Boards to feedback on how they might address water pollution within each farming sector. Other environmental topics, such as carbon emissions and biodiversity were also discussed.
Meeting farmers face-to-face
As part of its communications strategy Red Tractor has committed to engaging more with farmers face-to-face. The Board heard that since April Red Tractor staff and Directors have attended more than 60 farmer-facing events, meeting over 1,000 farmers. This has included events such as Cereals, the Royal Welsh Show and UK Dairy Day. As part of our 25th anniversary celebrations we’ve also sponsored the Farmers Weekly Mixed Farmer of the Year Awards, the National Pig Awards and the Cumbrian Farmer Awards.
In October we ran four member events in Exeter, Stafford, Biggleswade and York. These were attended by over 100 farmers and resulted in robust discussions in which we answered members questions on a variety of issues. The Board reviewed feedback from these meetings and was encouraged to hear that the efforts by Red Tractor to engage more transparently were welcomed. The Board agreed that while these discussions may be challenging, it’s important that we continue to engage with the agricultural community. We’ll be organising more events for 2026.
Final thoughts
Overall, the meeting demonstrated positive progress by Red Tractor on many fronts. I’d like to take this moment to express my enormous gratitude to everyone on the Red Tractor staff for their hard work over the past year. I’m immensely proud of them all.
I’m also grateful to the 75+ members of our Sector Boards who have contributed their considerable knowledge, time and energies to developing the strategies that will take us forward into the new year.
Finally, on behalf of everyone on the Board I’d like to thank Lucy MacLennan and Iain Gardener for their immense contributions as Fresh Produce and Poultry Sector Chairs. Both have been part of Red Tractor’s board for over seven years and have overseen many changes within the organisation. Having come to the end of their terms on the Board, Lucy and Iain will be replaced by Veryan Bliss and Nick Major who joined the meeting and have had an extensive handover over the past month. We wish them all the best.
Kind regards,
Alistair Macintosh, Red Tractor Chair
Red Tractor Board members
- John Pain – Vice Chair
- David Exwood – Industry Director, Farmers Unions
- Will Jackson – Industry Director, AHDB (covered for by Ken Boyns)
- Dean Holroyd – Industry Director, BMPA
- Natalie Smith – Industry Director, BRC
- Chris Goodwin – Independent Director, Finance
- James Russell – Independent Director, Vet
- John Dracup – Beef & Lamb Sector Chair
- Julian Sturdy – Combinable Crops and Sugar Beet Sector Chair
- Tim Lock – Dairy Sector Chair
- Lucy MacLennan – Fresh Produce Sector Chair. From 1 December 2025 Veryan Bliss takes over the role of Fresh Produce Sector Chair.
- Stewart Houston CBE, FRAgS – Pig Sector Chair
- Iain Gardner – Poultry Sector Chair. From 1 December 2025 Nick Major takes over the role of Poultry Sector Chair.
- Jim Moseley – Chief Executive