Red Tractor has dropped its Greener Farms Commitment module (GFC), following months of criticism from farmers about the way it has been developed.
The Assurance Scheme said the module had been developed to help farmers, processors and retailers meet the growing need for all to demonstrate sustainability, in a single, practical and consistent way. But the organisation said it had taken on board the concerns about the impact the GFC would have on many farmers across the UK, and the board on Friday today agreed it would discontinue the module.
Christine Tacon, Chair of Red Tractor, said that while the module had been conceived with the best of intentions, errors had been made.
“We take responsibility for those issues and are sorry. We hope that by dropping the module, we can close the door on this chapter and move forward.
“We will only be involved in future environmental standards when all constituencies across the UK food and farming chain, by sector, ask us to and with full consultation.”
“We will listen more closely to our farmers, for example, Red Tractor has previously found that transparency, audit burden and value are farmers’ top concerns with Red Tractor. Significant efforts are already underway to tackle these, which you will hear more about in the next few months.”
In a joint response to the news, the four UK Farming Unions – NFU, NFU Cymru, NFUS and UFU – together with the AHDB, said: “We welcome today’s news that Red Tractor has listened to feedback from its members and has axed the proposed Greener Farms Commitment.
“It’s also pleasing to see a commitment from Red Tractor that it will only consider future environmental standards with sector consensus and full consultation. This is essential in rebuilding trust with farmers from across Britain, something we are pleased that Red Tractor has said is a priority and is already acting upon.
“We welcome Red Tractor’s desire for a more transparent, open and effective relationship with farmers in future.”