Poultry News
  • Production
    • Broiler Production
    • Ducks
    • Egg Production
    • Game
    • Hatching
    • Housing
    • Turkeys
  • Processing
  • Business & Politics
    • Business
    • Economics
    • EU & Politics
    • Marketing
    • People
    • Training & Education
  • Welfare
    • Environment
    • Food Safety
    • Vet & Medication
    • Welfare
  • Feed
  • Genetics
  • New Products
  • Magazines
    • August 2025
    • 2025 Poultry Health supplement
    • July 2025
    • 2025 National Egg and Poultry Awards finalists supplement
    • June 2025
    • 2025 Innovation supplement
    • May 2025
    • April 2025
    • March 2025
    • 2025 Feed and Nutrition supplement
    • February 2025
    • January 2025
    • December 2024
    • November 2024
    • October 2024
    • September 2024
    • 2024 Building for the Future supplement
    • August 2024
    • 2024 Poultry Health supplement
    • July 2024
    • 2024 National Egg and Poultry Awards finalists supplement
    • June 2024
    • 2024 Innovation supplement
    • Pig & Poultry Fair 2024
    • May 2024
    • April 2024
    • March 2024
    • February 2024
    • January 2024
    • December 2023
    • November 2023
    • Processing Equipment Supplement – Nov 2023
    • October 2023
    • Building Supplement – Sept 2023
    • September 2023
  • Jobs
    • Browse Jobs
    • Post a Job
    • Manage Jobs
  • Events
    • National Egg and Poultry Awards
    • Poultry Fair
    • Webinars
Twitter LinkedIn
  • FREE Email Newsletters
  • About Us
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Contact Us
Twitter LinkedIn
Podcast
Poultry News
  • Production
    • Broiler Production
    • Ducks
    • Egg Production
    • Game
    • Hatching
    • Housing
    • Turkeys
  • Processing
  • Business & Politics
    • Business
    • Economics
    • EU & Politics
    • Marketing
    • People
    • Training & Education
  • Welfare
    • Environment
    • Food Safety
    • Vet & Medication
    • Welfare
  • Feed
  • Genetics
  • New Products
  • Magazines
    1. August 2025
    2. 2025 Poultry Health supplement
    3. July 2025
    4. 2025 National Egg and Poultry Awards finalists supplement
    5. June 2025
    6. 2025 Innovation supplement
    7. May 2025
    8. April 2025
    9. March 2025
    10. 2025 Feed and Nutrition supplement
    11. February 2025
    12. January 2025
    13. December 2024
    14. November 2024
    15. October 2024
    16. September 2024
    17. 2024 Building for the Future supplement
    18. August 2024
    19. 2024 Poultry Health supplement
    20. July 2024
    21. 2024 National Egg and Poultry Awards finalists supplement
    22. June 2024
    23. 2024 Innovation supplement
    24. Pig & Poultry Fair 2024
    25. May 2024
    26. April 2024
    27. March 2024
    28. February 2024
    29. January 2024
    30. December 2023
    31. November 2023
    32. Processing Equipment Supplement – Nov 2023
    33. October 2023
    34. Building Supplement – Sept 2023
    35. September 2023
    Featured

    Poultry Business – August 2025 issue out now

    By Chloe RyanAugust 13, 2025
    Recent

    Poultry Business – August 2025 issue out now

    August 13, 2025

    2025 Poultry Health supplement out now

    August 13, 2025

    Poultry Business – July 2025 issue

    July 1, 2025
  • Jobs
    • Browse Jobs
    • Post a Job
    • Manage Jobs
  • Events
    • National Egg and Poultry Awards
    • Poultry Fair
    • Webinars
Twitter LinkedIn
Poultry News
Production

Red Tractor to introduce online audits via smartphone

Chloe RyanBy Chloe RyanApril 17, 20203 Mins Read
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email
Share
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email

Red Tractor is preparing to roll out live streamed farm audits to enable new applicants to be assessed and current members to retain their assurance status throughout the coronavirus pandemic.
All physical assessments were halted last month in accordance with government advice on social distancing and non-essential travel.
But the UK’s largest food and farming assurance scheme has been working with certification bodies and key stakeholders to deliver an innovative solution to allow audits to continue – meeting UKAS requirements – without the need for assessors to travel to farms.
Red Tractor CEO Jim Moseley said: “As a world-leading assurance scheme, it was important that we developed a remote assessment option, which isn’t burdensome for our members but underpins our mantra – that adhering to the standards isn’t merely an option, it is a necessity – it’s every standard, every day.”
Mosely said Red Tractor’s remote regime was sufficiently robust to replace the routine inspection through this period where physical inspections can’t be made, thereby avoiding a backlog in inspections. 
The assurance scheme utilises its own online portal to enable farms to upload their documents and records and has run a series of pilots using different live-streaming technologies, across all the sectors the scheme covers – pigs, poultry, crops, fresh produce, livestock and dairy – to allow assessors to have ‘virtual eyes’ on the farm.
The next phase of the development will be the scaling-up of pilots to stress test the new protocol, in order for Red Tractor to address any issues.  More than 150 farmers have expressed an interest in being a part of this next stage of the roll out, citing the benefits of an assessment protocol which is more modern and the use of accessible technology as key.
From this week, under the new remote assessment programme, farms due their assurance assessment, or new applicants, can either opt for an offline pre-assessment, followed by a live stream partial assessment using video calling or online meeting software such as WhatsApp, Blue Jeans, Zoom.
Members must send documentation to their assessor in advance, via Red Tractor’s portal or other secure file transfer site, to complete the offline pre-assessment.  A video call will follow at an appropriate time, allowing assessors to carry out the visual assessment of the member’s site without needing to attend in person.
Alternatively, members can opt to have the entire assessment, with all document reviews and inspections taking place, via a video call with an assessor.
Farmers who have successful remote assessments during this phase, will not be required to have an additional physical assessment outside of their normal audit cycle.
Jim Moseley added: “While some farmers may be daunted at the prospect of a remote assessment, those that have trialled the approach see huge benefits and many believe this could herald another approach to auditing long after the impact of Covid-19.
“We understand that this new approach will take time to bed in, but we are committed to working with our members and certification bodies to make sure remote assessments are as straightforward as possible.”
By developing remote assessments that keeps traceability, food safety and animal welfare right at its heart, we are able to continue to robustly monitor this, while ensuring that great care is taken to protect the health of our nation, farmers and assessors.”
Members will be contacted by their certification body in due course to discuss the options available to them.
 

Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email
Previous ArticleTechnical advice: Protein and sustainability in broiler production
Next Article Influenza antibodies made by Pirbright reduce disease in chickens
Chloe Ryan

Editor of Poultry Business, Chloe has spent the past decade writing about the food industry from farming, through manufacturing, retail and foodservice. When not working, dog walking and reading biographies are her favourite hobbies.

Read Similar Stories

Housing

Four areas of biosecurity to consider when building or adapting poultry houses

September 12, 20255 Mins Read
Broiler Production

Comment: Are you managing your litter responsibly?

September 12, 20253 Mins Read
Egg Production

Global egg market to grow 22% by 2035

September 11, 20252 Mins Read
Latest News

Four areas of biosecurity to consider when building or adapting poultry houses

September 12, 2025

Comment: Are you managing your litter responsibly?

September 12, 2025

Global egg market to grow 22% by 2035

September 11, 2025
Sponsored Content

How can UK farmers make poultry profitable without losing welfare?

September 1, 2025

Precision Nutrition: A global approach to reducing broiler feed cost.

August 1, 2025
© 2024 MA Agriculture Ltd, a Mark Allen Group company

Privacy Policy | Cookies Policy | Terms & Conditions

  • Farmers Weekly
  • AA Farmer
  • Farm Contractor
  • Pig World

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.