Annual Review 2013
2 Red Tractor Assurance
Annual Review 2013 1
Red Tractor Assurance
FOREWORD
Established in 2000, Red Tractor is the UK’s leading farm and quality food assurance scheme. We are a not-for-profit, limited company set up by the UK food industry with a proven track record over the past two decades. Our logo is used by major UK retailers, many branded manufacturers and food service operators and we estimate that our licensees sell Red Tractor assured products with an annual sales value of £12 billion.
David Gregory – Chairman, Red Tractor Assurance
1
Foreword
19
Assessor training review
3 What our Stakeholders say
20 Assurance throughout the food chain
4
21
Red Tractor Assurance Assessments – Efficiency and unnecessary repetition
22
Red Tractor Assurance Licensing
23
Farmer Communications
24
Marketing and Communications
Highlights
6 Our people 8
Red Tractor Assurance – Efficient and Effective
12 Our schemes 18
Technical Conference
Back page Contact details
Over the past 13 years, the Red Tractor scheme has grown into an extraordinary success story. By bringing together a number of separately owned assurance schemes under one logo and by building on the cooperation and commitment of farmers, food processors, supermarkets and the food service industry, the scheme provides significant benefits to the whole food chain, from farmers to consumers enjoying high quality Red Tractor food. A Growing Industry The Red Tractor scheme has continued to grow. We are delighted to report a further increase in the number of farming enterprises who are members of our scheme to over 60,000*. Consumer recognition of our logo based on YouGov surveys is extremely high, now more than 60% of shoppers recognise the Red Tractor Logo. The survey also tells us that 29% of shoppers say that they look for the logo some or every time that they shop for food. Another 44% say that they support the principles behind the logo but do not act on it and this group presents the most fertile target for future promotional work. All of this is reflected in the extensive use of the logo on food products in retail stores and food service outlets – in fact we estimate that our licensees sell Red Tractor assured products with annual sales value of £12 billion. Whole Chain Assurance The secret of Red Tractor’s success is that it provides benefits to every part of the food chain. For farmers and growers it provides simplicity through a single national scheme. Standards are developed with representatives from all parts of the chain to make sure they are relevant and give value to the consumers who want reassurance about the way their food is produced.
Supermarkets and food service partners benefit from totally independent on-farm audits by accredited assessors across 79,000 farms, which enable them to specify products knowing the individual farm meets the Red Tractor requirements of food safety, animal welfare and environmental protection.
Continued on page 2
* As well as 19,000 livestock farms in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland with whom we enjoy mutual recognition.
For consumers, the Red Tractor is a single reference point that assures them of the standards to which their food is produced and where it comes from. The flag in the logo tells you exactly where the product has been farmed and processed and our independent traceability audits on licensed packers ensure that all of this information is correct. However, success brings its own challenges. Issues and Challenges We were very disappointed by Sainsbury’s decision towards the end of 2012, to elect not to use Red Tractor logo as part of their consumer communications. However, it is testimony to the Red Tractor assurance systems that they continue to make full use of our standards and inspections behind the scenes. The horsemeat adulteration scandal that was exposed early in 2013 was extraordinarily serious and has had a profound effect on the consumer’s faith in the supply chain. Six months later shoppers’ behaviour is still clouded by what they read in the press and saw on TV during that episode. Of course it seems that this was not simply a failure of management systems but also involved deliberate fraud and probably criminal activity. Nevertheless it is at times like this when systems of assurance and integrity like Red Tractor come into their own and I believe that Red Tractor has a significant part to play in helping to restore consumer confidence. Communications and campaigns Red Tractor has become the face of the industry’s standards of Good Agricultural Practice. The scheme underpins good standards of animal welfare and safe food and we will continue to develop our standards based on sound science. But success means that Red Tractor becomes the focal point for campaigns and lobby groups wishing to target the production standards of the industry.
One recent example was a challenge against the claim that our pork standards provided “higher” welfare standards for pigs. The advert was intended to suggest that British assured pork enjoyed higher standards than imported products that are marketed alongside, but the Advertising Standards Authority found that in the absence of a direct reference to the point of comparison the advert might mislead. We will learn from this but will continue to support the promotion of foods for the benefit of the farming community, producers of Red Tractor food and others to provide clear information to enable consumer choice. We can only achieve our communication and marketing objectives through the help of other organisations. We have a very limited budget and are supported extensively by the AHDB, BPC and farming unions, with whom we work closely to achieve alignment of our messages. We are very grateful for this support and similarly for the support of many retail, food service and manufacturing brands who have used Red Tractor in their own advertising. Clearly this has mutual benefit and helps to get the Red Tractor message across to consumers. Confidence Looking forward, we recognise that the whole of the food chain is under financial pressure. Cost of production remains high whilst consumers are concerned about the cost of food and want good value for their money. We believe Red Tractor is well placed in providing consumers with what they want, namely affordable food produced to transparent standards they can have confidence in. We will continue to review our standards and our systems to ensure that we maintain this level of trust in the Red Tractor. All of this can only be achieved by a first class team. I am fortunate to be supported by an excellent team and a highly committed board of directors. We also have a number of sector boards and advisory committees that ensure we are listening to the whole chain and that we are keeping up with the expectations of farmers, supermarkets and consumers. My thanks go to all involved with the success story that is Red Tractor.
Annual Review 2013 3
Chris Fells – Product Excellence Director, KFC UK & Ireland:
As primary producers and packers we are responsible for every step in the supply chain to the supermarket door. Being Red Tractor assured gives our customers the very highest level of confidence in our produce and that in turn gives confidence to their shoppers. Asda agricultural manager Pearce Hughes says Guy Poskitt is a great example of an integrated produce business. Asda works closely with Guy to ensure we are selling the very best Red Tractor assured British produce, something we know our customers place a great deal of trust in.
Guy Poskitt – Asda Carrot farmer
We are delighted that Carling and Worthington’s are certified by Red Tractor which demonstrates our commitment to quality food and great farming. It shows the growing importance that big brands are placing on food safety, quality and traceability and shows our consumers the importance we place on responsible and reliable sourcing. Molson Coors sources over 130,000 tonnes of 100% British barley each year to brew our beers. Our farmers are proud that their products meet Red Tractor’s high standards of production relating to food safety and hygiene, and environmental protection. With the Red Tractor certification, we can demonstrate to customers this on-going commitment to Red Tractor farmers and their quality products.
Jerry Dyson – Senior Category Manager (Global) Brewing Materials, Molson Coors
Red Tractor farmers are proud to produce and supply food to some of the highest, independently audited, standards of production in the world.
Philip Hudson – Head of Food and Farming, NFU
Stakeholders Say
Continued from page 1
As a food company, consumer trust in the quality of our food is paramount. Red Tractor is important for us at KFC because it’s a recognisable stamp of quality and provenance for our Original Recipe chicken on the bone. Consumers are increasingly concerned about where their food comes from, and Red Tractor provides reassurance about our supply chain, and helps us to show our customers and stakeholders that our Original Recipe chicken on the bone is sourced responsibly from over 500 trusted British farms.
What our
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Annual Review 2013 5
Highlights 11,446 60,474 scheme members
Dairy
Scheme members
24,422 Pig
Beef and Lamb
scheme members
1,943
scheme members
2,464
2,475 produce scheme members
661
processors and packers
food
service outlets
17,724 19,000 crops and sugar beet scheme members
63 % of shoppers recognise the Red Tractor logo Poultry scheme members
2,900
Farms with mutual recognition
28 wholesaler licensees
independent certification
bodies
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Annual Review 2013 7
Directors and Executive Team AFS Board
Chairman – David Gregory
Vice Chairman – Meurig Raymond
Chief Executive – David Clarke
Assurance and Sector Managers
Industry Directors
Independent Directors
Finance and Administration
Farming – Richard Davis Food Retailing – Martyn Jones UK Levy Bodies – John Godfrey Meat Processing – Stuart Roberts Poultry Sector – Andy Lewins
Consumer Interests – Diane McCrea Regulatory Inspection – Malcolm Taylor Environmental – Prof. Les Firbank Finance – Gerry Sweeney Animal Health – Peter Jinman OBE
Financial Controller – Barry Cox Group IT & Office Manager – Merlin Williams
Sector Directors Fresh Produce – Louise Sutherland Combinable crops and sugar beet – Matthew Read Pigs – Mike Sheldon Poultry – Ted Wright Dairy – Mike Madders Beef and Lamb – John Thorley OBE
Communications & Business Development Head of Marketing – Richard Cattell Brand Executive – Georgina Park Account Manager – Nigel Akehurst
Head of Assurance – Anita Roberts Sector, Communications and Management Information Manager – Philippa Wiltshire Sector, Standards and Policy Manager – Elizabeth Kerrigan Technical Managers – Emma Surman & Catherine Lehane Technical Manager (Licensing) – Kelly Garrod Industry Communications Executive – Jessica Sloss Technical Executive – Sarah Lock Technical Assistants – Vivienne Twiselton & Hazel Cooper
Recent organisational changes have been designed for efficiency. The team now works flexibly across all the commodity sectors, allowing us to use individual skills where they are needed at any moment. It has allowed us to bolster the overall skill set of the team at no additional cost and marks the completion of our evolution from a collection of independent commodity schemes.
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Annual Review 2013 9
David Clarke – CEO
Red Tractor Assurance – Efficient and Effective The assurance scheme must be robust; both the standards and the assessments must be done effectively. At the same time we must make sure that the work is done as efficiently as possible. We have made progress on both these points.
Efficiency
Overlap with other schemes
Within the Red Tractor schemes we are making a fundamental review of the way assessments are made. We are looking to simplify the way the standards are written to make them shorter but easier to understand.
The market is complex and many farms have certification in a number of schemes to meet their market demands. We have long standing arrangements with schemes such as organic certification to allow integrated assessments.
Assurance Assessments Certain farm records are inevitable and in fact most records we look at in assurance assessments are required by law. However, we are exploring ways to reduce the time spent by assessors simply looking at paperwork. A pilot project that allows our assessors to access records online ahead of the farm visit has been successful and we are exploring how we might roll this out more widely.
A significant overlap, albeit only on pig and poultry farms, is with the RSPCA’s Freedom Foods scheme. We were pleased to see that the McNair Report (May 2013) into the RSPCA’s scheme acknowledged that invariably the market requires assurance on topics beyond animal welfare alone. As a result the great majority of Freedom Food farms are also certified within the Red Tractor scheme. We have for some time been talking to Freedom Foods to explore how we can do this with maximum efficiency and avoid duplication and the McNair report will give new impetus.
Overlap with regulation Many regulatory agencies already take account of the assurance status of farms. They recognise that assurance also covers the same subjects and they inspect assured farms significantly less frequently. The following arrangements continue to operate successfully:
Regulation
Agencies
Since
General Food Hygiene
Food Standards Agency & Local Authority Trading Standards
2006
Pollution Prevention and Control Regulations
Environment Agency
2009
Dairy Hygiene
Food Standards Agency
2011
Animal Health & Welfare
AHVLA
2012
More recently, a report for DEFRA identified that farms in our scheme performed significantly better in official inspections against 5 of the Cross Compliance criteria. This could open the way for the Rural Payments Agency to adopt ‘earned recognition’ in future. The FSA has embraced ‘earned recognition’ for many years but Feed Hygiene inspections are the one topic not yet included. Plans are now well advanced for this to be done early in 2014.
We have assessed other opportunities with UK regulators, but in some cases it will need a change in very restrictive EU regulations before we can make progress.
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Annual Review 2013 11
Traceability The news of adulteration with horsemeat was a major event for the supply chain and made headlines for many weeks. Thousands of products were tested and no Red Tractor products were implicated. As the story progressed many commentators used Red Tractor as a point of reference for trustworthy food and this gave us many opportunities to provide information and interviews to both trade and consumer media, both print and broadcast.
Validation We recognise that there is no room for complacency. All companies using the Red Tractor logo are subject to inspection that allows us to test traceability systems and check that the Red Tractor logo is being applied only to products eligible to carry it. We review how we do these checks every year and have used the experience and insight of many colleagues in the supply chain when updating our programme for the current year.
Scope Current rules only allow Red Tractor logo to be used on a restricted range of foods where the Red Tractor ingredient forms a very substantial proportion of the total product. We have always had requests to extend this, for example to allow recipe dishes to be labelled ‘Made with Red Tractor Chicken’ or ‘Made with Red Tractor Lamb’ perhaps using a new version of the logo. This is a complex question but we will explore options and precautions with stakeholders and conduct proper consumer research.
Animal Welfare Animal Welfare has always been a key part of the Red Tractor livestock schemes. This continues to be a contentious area but Red Tractor standards make a valuable contribution to farm animal welfare because:
Pigs In the pig sector BPEX has promoted research over several years which has resulted in the “Real Welfare” system. Our pig scheme has helped to put this into effect from April 2013. The initiative received positive coverage on BBC TV’s Country File programme a few months later.
n We
Dairy A similar ‘outcomes’ approach for dairy cows was promoted in the NFU’s Cow Welfare Strategy and we have been grateful for the support of the charity funded ‘AssureWel’ project in helping us to develop the idea. Pilots have been tested and we will begin to introduce these measures in the autumn of 2013.
do include some standards that go beyond basic legal requirements.
n Every
assured farm is assessed at least on a 12 or 18 months cycle, which is much more frequent than any regulatory inspection.
n Our
standards are practicable. They are used by most of the UK industry so they have an impact.
Our standards have never stood still and currently we are in the middle of ground-breaking new developments. Welfare measures Veterinary researchers have long argued that the historical basis for welfare legislation (and assurance standards) is wrong. We specify production facilities and conditions and assume that this will mean good welfare. The scientists argue we should be checking that assumption by measuring welfare by observation of the stock. They have suggested ways of doing this but until recently these have not been suitable for routine use on farms.
Like any innovation, the use of welfare outcome measures has run into both scepticism and some teething problems. But the broad consensus in the industry sectors is that this development is necessary both to ensure the welfare of livestock and to satisfy the needs of customers.
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Annual Review 2013 13
Our Schemes
Our Schemes
Fresh Produce
Combinable Crops & Sugar Beet
As a result of the new potato industry initiative ‘Be CIPC Compliant’, the Red Tractor standards were amended this year to include best practice measures.
A survey on the mycotoxin risk assessment and helping to highlight the dangers of clay pigeons contaminating oilseed rape crops have been some of the main issues in the crops and sugar beet sector this year.
Dr. Louise Sutherland took over in 2012 as the Fresh Produce Sector Chair. Louise joins us with a long history and association with the industry. During the year the new potato industry initiative ‘Be CIPC Compliant’ was launched and as a result the Red Tractor standards were amended to include CIPC best practice measures.
This year we helped HGCA in collecting data on how growers used the mycotoxin risk assessment for milling wheat crops during the 2012 harvest in order to assess how well the risk assessment was working in practice. We have also been working with other organisations such as NFU, AIC, NFUS, SQC and SCOPA to encourage best practice in regards to oilseed rape contamination, particularly with clay pigeons.
To remain in the scheme, growers must correct every non-conformance found. In the case of serious problems their certificate will be suspended until corrected.
To remain in the scheme, growers must correct every non-conformance found. In the case of serious problems their certificate will be suspended until corrected.
In reality, where growers do have non-conformances it is generally against points less critical to the core objectives of the scheme. For example, first aid certificates had lapsed on 5% of holdings. That said, 4% of holdings had not completed all the necessary checks of spraying equipment.
In reality, where growers have non-conformances it is generally on points less critical to the core objectives of the scheme. That said, 4% of holdings had not completed all necessary checks on spraying equipment and 2% did not have a valid NSTS certificate for the sprayer used.
80
Louise Sutherland – Chairman
60 40 20 2013 2012
0 0
1 2 3 4 No. of Non-Conformances
5
>5
Louise Sutherland started her professional career in the industry with a PhD in Plant Pathology at the University of Reading. She then joined the Forestry Commission to conduct research on Dutch Elm disease. After this, she moved to Marks and Spencer plc where she worked as a Produce Technologist for a number of years before becoming a food buyer. She became chair of the Red Tractor Produce Board in 2012.
% Non Conformances
% Non Conformances
80
Matthew Read – Chairman
60 40 20 2013 2012
0 0
1 2 3 4 No. of Non-Conformances
5
>5
Matthew Read has chaired our Sector Board for Combinable Crops and Sugar Beet for the past 3 years. He farms 3,200 acres on the Hampshire/Wiltshire border partly on his family owned farm also as a Tenant and as a Contract farmer. The farms grow a range of combinable crops, including wheat, spring barley, oilseed rape and linseed.
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Annual Review 2013 15
Our Schemes
Our Schemes
Poultry
Beef and Lamb
Campylobacter remains high on the agenda in the poultry sector. This year has seen the BPC Duck Assurance Scheme become a partner of the Red Tractor Poultry scheme.
A complex supply chain means that our standards cover not only farms but livestock transport, auction markets and meat processing as well.
This year saw the BPC’s Duck Assurance Scheme become a partner of the Red Tractor Poultry Scheme. With no duck-specific legislation at UK and EU level, BPC’s duck sector group put together standards based on scientific knowledge and practical experience, covering food safety, animal welfare, environmental protection and continuous professional development for all personnel involved in the business. Work is continuing to improve biosecurity in poultry production.
October 2012 saw the development and meeting of a cross-industry sub-group that debated health and welfare issues facing the beef and lamb sector and considered Red Tractors’ role in managing these issues. The main recommendation from the day was for the development of the Herd Health Plan template into a process that was more dynamic and review focused. Work has been underway to finalise a template in preparation for the new standards in 2014.
To remain in the scheme, farmers must correct every non-conformance found. In the case of serious problems their certificate will be suspended until corrected.
To remain in the scheme, growers must correct every non-conformance found. In the case of serious problems their certificate will be suspended until corrected.
Despite having to observe 185 standards, over two thirds of broiler farms are found to conform to all but 2 standards or fewer. The main non-conformance related to the adoption of the British Poultrymeat Training – Poultry Passport which was introduced in 2011. Producers are now becoming more familiar with some tough new standards, evidenced by a significant increase of 10% in the number of farms conforming to every requirement.
The scheme standards require detailed records to be kept of all veterinary medicines used to treat livestock, some of which are in addition to those required by law. The most frequent non-conformance in this sector related to small errors in the fine detail of these medicine records.
80
Ted Wright – Chairman
60 40 20 2013 2012
0 0
1 2 3 4 No. of Non-Conformances
5
>5
Ted Wright was chairman of the British Poultry Council for six years before becoming Chairman of the Red Tractor Poultry Scheme in 2010. He has 45 years of experience of working within this sector mostly operating turkey processing facilities for Bernard Matthews.
% Non Conformances
% Non Conformances
80
John Thorley – Chairman John Thorley OBE chairs our Beef & Lamb Board. John has been involved in farming all of his life, reflected in 2006 in the award of an OBE for his services to sheep farming.
60 40 20 2013 2012
0 0
1 2 3 4 No. of Non-Conformances
5
>5
He currently also chairs the International Campaign for Wool and the Mutton Renaissance Club.
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Annual Review 2013 17
OurSchemes Schemes Our
Our Schemes
Pigs
Following a number of challenges we took the opportunity to carry out an early review of the Pig Scheme and we have worked with BPEX, NPA and industry to design improvements.
Recent focus has been on introducing Welfare Outcomes into the Dairy Scheme, this piece of work will help to deliver the Dairy Cow Welfare Strategy initiated by the NFU.
In April 2013 a number of improved standards were introduced, which included a requirement for staff handling livestock to have welfare training and clearer standards for emergency euthanasia for sick or fallen stock that cannot be treated.
The Red Tractor scheme has developed the outcome measures with scientists at the University of Bristol Veterinary School under a charity funded ‘AssureWel’ project. They include mobility, the cows’ body condition and cleanliness plus a measure of hair loss, lesions & swellings.
80
As part of their quarterly visits, we now require vets to score finisher pigs against criteria including Lameness, Tail Lesions and Body Marks. Vets are required to make any necessary recommendations and record them in farm health plans. The role of the assessor is to check whether the Real Welfare assessments have been carried out and any vet recommendations have been acted upon. We are continuing to monitor and work closely with all involved and refine where we need to.
60 40 20 2013 2012
0 No. of Non-Conformances
The new proposals also include recording of mastitis, culling and calf survivability which should be reviewed regularly by the 80 producer and his vet.
Mike Sheldon – Chairman A graduate in Classics and Modern Languages from Magdalen College, Oxford, Mike joined a pig genetics company, PIC, in 1982, and worked for that company until 1995 in various roles, from Production Manager for the UK to Marketing Manager for Europe. He then left to establish his own farming business, which he has run since then. He became chairman of the Red Tractor Pig Sector Board in November 2012.
% Non Conformances
We also used the opportunity to introduce the Real Welfare assessments developed by BPEX.
% Non Conformances
Dairy
To remain in the scheme, farmers must correct every non-conformance found. In the case of serious problems their certificate will be suspended until corrected.
The initial plans for the measures to be checked periodically by the producer and by the scheme assessor at routine visits were circulated for the usual consultation process from which we got an unprecedented level of feedback. Based on this we have been refining the proposals for a launch in October 2013. To remain in the scheme, farmers must correct every non-conformance found. In the case of serious problems their certificate will be suspended until corrected.
Mike Madders – Chairman Mike Madders farms within a family partnership on a 730 acre mixed dairy and arable unit on the outskirts of Stafford in the West Midlands.
60 40 20 2013 2012
0 0
1 2 3 4 No. of Non-Conformances
5
>5
Mike is a member of the DairyCo Research Advisory Forum and was a leading light in the development of the NFU’s Dairy Cow welfare strategy. He took over chairmanship of our Dairy sector board early in 2011.
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Technical Conference –
Red Tractor Assurance 2013 and beyond In March 2013 Red Tractor held a technical conference bringing together for the first time over 120 stakeholders including members of sector boards, technical advisory committees, certification bodies and key retailer customers. This provided an opportunity to: n Hear
about the top priorities for the Red Tractor technical assurance team.
n Discuss
openly the challenges likely to face Red Tractor in the future.
n Update
on recent Red Tractor marketing activities.
The afternoon breakout sessions provided the delegates with an opportunity to participate and feed their views on future Red Tractor assurance strategy on four key technical areas – Animal Welfare, Farm Staff Competency, Environment and Animal Feed.
Annual Review 2013 19
Assessor Training Review During the year we undertook a review of assessor training and performance monitoring – the first one that we have done in the years that we have been operating
With the exception of our Dairy Scheme, our current model requires certification bodies to train the farm assessors. Our recent review told us that each certification body has its own methods of training and that consistency could be improved. We took the decision to increase our involvement by developing a formalised training programme for all certification bodies to follow. We are now working together with our Certification Bodies to design a number of courses. To date, these include: n A
scheme standards course
n Managing n Who
the assessment process and how to assess
Red Tractor are, what we do and our scheme rules
The courses will set out what compliance with our standards should look like and how our assessors should assess them. A test at the end of the course ensures that the assessor understands. We are also looking at how technology can help with delivery of some of these courses, e.g. e-learning. Later phases of the work will include monitoring performance, for example, by shadowing audits as well as Continuing Professional Development.
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Annual Review 2013 21
Assurance
throughout the food chain
Red Tractor Assurance Assessments - Efficiency and Unnecessary Repetition
Great Farming means Great Food
Over time we have received feedback about the complexity of our assessments.
The Red Tractor logo is not just about assurance on farms. It means that the product has been produced and processed to good standards, independently checked at every critical link in the supply chain.
For example fresh produce growers commented on the time spent in the office looking at documentation compared to limited time out on the farm.
We use our own standards for some of the links in the chain, such as farm assurance and livestock transport and other well-established food industry standards in other parts of the chain. For example, the BRC Global Standard demonstrates high standards of safety and integrity in food processing factories.
This has told us that we need to get smarter and more efficient. We are working with a company called Qadex to develop a Portal to help the process. The Portal will allow information and documentation to be uploaded prior to an assessment and therefore to reduce the time the assessor needs to spend on farm reviewing paperwork - paperwork can be reviewed in advance of the day on site allowing more time to be spent looking at the growing operations. Phase 1 of the project has been trialled successfully during 2013.
Further Phases will look at other management functionality and may include links to other industry databases that would provide standards compliance information, training links and videos for growers on why we have the standards and what good looks like in terms of conformance, links to templates with guidance on how to fill them in and the ability to send the grower email reminders. The trial work is being completed in the Fresh Produce sector and as the work develops we will look at any opportunities for other Sectors.
22 Red Tractor Assurance
Red Tractor Assurance
Licensing
Farmer Communication Our farmer members are at the heart of Red Tractor Assurance so in 2012 we set out to understand farmers’ views on: n Red
Tractor Farm Assurance Schemes and the services provided.
n Other
services Red Tractor Assured farmers would like to receive.
n How
There was a significant increase in the number of processor and packer licensees in 2012/13 compared with 2011/12. The total number of licensees increased from 557 to 661, a rise of nearly 16%. The number of licensed wholesalers has increased by 25% from 2011/12 to 2012/13. These figures clearly demonstrate a continued commitment from the industry to support farm assurance and communicate the Red Tractor message to consumers.
In order to use the Red Tractor logo, any food processor, packer, retailer or caterer must be licensed to do so.
The licensee must agree only to use the logo on products that meet all of our criteria along the supply chain.
The licence also allows us to make checks at the licensee’s premises to ensure that this is happening.
farmers wish to be communicated with.
n Red
Tractor logo and extent to which farmers want to know about consumer marketing campaigns.
81% 76%
agree RT is useful tool to show consumers the good standards that farmers follow agree RTA membership helps them check they are meeting legal obligations
The results showed that in general farmers were positive about Red Tractor but were not aware of the tools and services available to help them meet the scheme requirements. It also showed that there is a need to improve farmers’ understanding of the benefits of being Red Tractor assured and an opportunity to harness members’ enthusiasm to help promote the Red Tractor logo to the wider public. Throughout 2013/14 Red Tractor Assurance will be focusing on improving the ways we communicate with farmers with more coverage in the farming press and the launch of a member e-newsletter.
76% 78%
are proud to be Red Tractor Farmers
were Farm Assured because of customer demand
23
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Annual Review 2013 25
Marketing
Communications
BRANDNEWS
A key objective is increasing the penetration of Red Tractor assured products in consumer markets and ensuring consumers understand what the Red Tractor logo stands for. Awareness of the Red Tractor logo is at an all-time high with 63% of UK shoppers recognising the logo with one in three actively looking for the logo on their food purchases.
The Red Tractor Assurance Communications & Marketing Team role is three-fold: developing new opportunities for Red Tractor Food, managing of the Red Tractor brand and trade & consumer communications.
Encouraging consumers to “Trust The Tractor”
M O N T HLY
In order to make it easy for consumers to understand what Red Tractor stands for and to look out for the logo on-pack, the Red Tractor team and its industry partners have worked together to produce a single consumer facing message that will be communicated through all consumer activity in the future. Consumers, retailers, branded manufacturers and foodservice operators have given their overwhelming support for the new consumer messaging and co-ordinated activity by the industry will be rolled out during the course of the 13/14 financial year.
Red Tractor Week 2012
7/05/2013 rd g Standa
Working Together 100% of our fresh British We have co-ordinated our activity with AHDB industry stakeholders and have been hugely supported by the NFU, retailers, branded manufacturers and commercial food service * operators who use our standards and the logo in their consumer facing communications.
meat and poultry carry the Red Tractor Logo!
sket r your ba ough foets. ken. good en ck n de A chic bu Gra ke r t, e ic r ouwe only use the e.fresOfhescourse, atwehomcook chicken Only ch enough fo , hom ke the way cook at e chicken the-bonermarket and spices that ma is goorigod ipe oninal rec buy in the sup of herbs and ky. For our e as you’d t secret blend in Kentuc The sam missing tha icious. home is . If your you’d be and so del chicken so unique like home cooked just uk KFC. It’s at kfc.co. re mo Find out
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In September 2012 we launched Red Tractor Week. Fronted by celebrity mum Debra Stephenson Red Tractor Week 2012 was a national consumer campaign supported with in-store media, a national PR and radio campaign as well as digital and social media messaging. In developing our campaign we worked closely with industry stakeholders and a number of retail and foodservice partners. The Red Tractor Week 2012 campaign created some 84 pieces of trade and consumer coverage across digital, printed and broadcast coverage with over 151 million opportunities created to see Red Tractor messaging.
In conjunction with AHDB and the British Nutrition Foundation “Food a fact for life” programme, Red Tractor Week worked with schools to help teach the importance of food origin under the Red Tractor scheme through curriculum focused resources and school competition. Educational resources were distributed to over 24,000 teachers in primary schools across the UK and students were encouraged to enter a competition explaining what Red Tractor meant to them.
26 Red Tractor Assurance
Contacts Red Tractor Head Office T 0207 630 3320 E enquiries@redtractor.org.uk
Red Tractor Assurance Schemes Beef and Lamb
Poultry
T 02476 478 630
T 01932 589 800
E beefandlamb@redtractorassurance.org.uk
E poultry@redtractorassurance.org.uk
Pigs
Dairy
T 01932 589 800
T 02476 478 630
E pigs@redtractorassurance.org.uk
E dairy@redtractorassurance.org.uk
Crops and Sugar Beet
Fresh Produce
T 01932 589 800
T 01932 589 800
E crops@redtractorassurance.org.uk
E produce@redtractorassurance.org.uk