Members of the Red Tractor team recently attended the Lutterworth Dairy Discussion Group. This offered another important opportunity for Red Tractor to spend time with and hear from farmers about the issues affecting them.
An open forum for honest conversations
Face-to-face meetings are a valuable open forum for honest conversations about the issues that matter most to farmers and the wider agricultural industry. A range of topics were discussed throughout the evening, such as standards and scheme delivery, broader industry challenges, as well as opportunities in the sector.
Building on the work of the Farm Assurance Review, we’re getting out and talking to farmers to explain how Red Tractor works, including how decisions are made, how they contribute to the review of standards and to hear their feedback.
The team also highlighted Red Tractor’s latest advertising campaign, which celebrated 25 years since the creation of the Red Tractor logo. A new animated advert was created, ‘With You For 25 Years’, that follows a single family’s changing lives over 25 years and showcasing how Red Tractor assured food has been a staple throughout family mealtimes and special occasions. The advert featured on prime-time television and video on demand.
Shaping the future direction of the scheme
For Red Tractor, being out and about at meetings like this is an important way of listening to members’ experiences, concerns, frustrations, and ideas that help ensure farmers’ voices are shaping the future direction of the scheme.
A standout moment of the evening came during the vote of thanks, when one member commented: “You have convinced me that Red Tractor are listening to and engaging with members.” Feedback like this means a lot and reinforces why these discussions are important to Red Tractor.
Real life examples to reduce audit burden
Kate Cross, Senior Assurance & Services Manager at Red Tractor, said: “The passion producers have to ensure, we, Red Tractor, know their strength of feeling about standards is a great springboard for open discussion. The group both listened and challenged us on the information we shared along with providing us with real life examples of where we can look to reduce audit burden.”
Red Tractor would like to thank everyone who attended, contributed to the conversation, and shared their views so openly. We look forward to continuing these discussions with more members across the country at events in the months ahead.
If you’re hosting a farming event and would like someone from the team to come along to share more about what we’re doing, please email memberhelp@redtractor.co.uk