Our Dairy Standards
Dairy farmers are among the most committed workers out there, often getting up any time from 3am to 6am to milk their herd. To be Red Tractor assured, our dairy farmers must also work tirelessly to maintain a rigorous set of standards that keep animal welfare at their core and ensure we can deliver full supply chain traceability and food safety.
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Take a look at some of our dairy standards…
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Anyone working on a Red Tractor certified farm must be trained and demonstrably competent to carry out their role
All Red Tractor cattle have a UK passport and receive 2 tags within 20 days of their birth to maintain traceability
Dairy calves must receive their first tag within 36 hours of their birth
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Milk collection and storage must be hygienic and well managed to ensure milk is safe and suitable for human consumptionCows producing milk must be milked daily
Why is this important?
- Milking cows produce a substantial amount of milk. If they aren’t regularly milked, their udders become too full, and this causes them pain and distress. That’s why daily milking is an important Red Tractor standard
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Safe, comfortable and hygienic housing must be available for all cows
This means:
- Housing must be constructed and maintained to provide a safe and secure environment for cows
- Housing must be well ventilated
- Conditions in housing must be maintained so that livestock are able to keep clean
- Safe, suitable and legal bedding is provided in lying areas
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The cows must have sufficiently sized housing and be kept in appropriate groups
Why do they need to be certain groupings?
Cattle need to be housed in their peer groups, meaning the farmer must take into account age, size and gender. This is because cattle have a hierarchy of status and can occasionally bully others to assert their status. Appropriate groupings prevent behaviour like this.
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Cows being kept outdoors must have access to shelter and a dry lying areaThe cows must receive a full, healthy diet
The feed they receive must be suitable, traceable and remain clean and palatable
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The health and welfare of the cattle must be proactively managed
Every farm must have a Livestock Health Plan and undergo an annual livestock health and performance review performed by a vet
Every certified farm must have a Farm Biosecurity Policy to prevent the spread of disease and protect food safety and animal health
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The health and welfare of livestock must also be well managed during transportation
This means:
- Headroom that allows livestock to stand in a natural position
- Non-slip flooring
- Free from injury risk (sharp edges/ projections)
- Facilities that allow livestock to be inspected, including lighting
- Adequate ventilation
- Vehicles fitted with roof to protect from weather
Being a Red Tractor farmer is really important to me. It means that we commit as an industry to very important standards. 95% of British milk is Red Tractor standard and it means that all those dairy products are safe, traceable, farmed with care and they come from farms like mine who have names and faces and our history
Being a dairy farmer is something Abi is passionate about
“It’s a really exciting job that means I get to spend a lot of time in the countryside, take my dog to work and spend a lot of time with my family, but more importantly, with a herd of the most amazing cows”
Early starts are part of life as dairy farmer
“I get up at 4am, although I might snooze for 5 minutes and get up at 4.05am! But it’s a great time of the day – you get up, get a cup of coffee, a bowl of cereal then get out the door and the birds are singing, the sun is rising and it’s such a peaceful time to be out”
Abi milks 200 cows which all came from a proud family line…
“I’m milking 200 cows and all of these cows are descended from my grandfather. So, when he got married and moved to this farm in the 1930s, he brought some of his father’s cows with him and the whole herd is built up from them so there’s a lot of heritage here which we’re really proud of. ”
And she has her favourites…
“There’s a lot of favourites, but one that always comes to mind is Marjory. She’s been with me since I started working full time on the farm – so that’s 16 years – and we’ve been on a journey the whole way through. She’s retired now, but she’s still with the herd and she always comes up to say hello in the mornings”