Farm Assurance

Voluntary schemes which food producers join to assure customers that certain standards have been maintained in the production process. Due to the scheme being voluntary, many farmers can choose not to bother with the scheme, and the scheme is maintained on a industry level. Three are three main schemes:

• Red Tractor- pay a levy to what they want the scheme to stand for e.g. most used in milk production. Self endorsed.
• RSPCA Freedom Foods- not earning money but the public donate. Publicity stunt to increase the amount of donations that are donated by the general public to this cause. 
• Soil Association Organic Standard- similar to RSPCA, but you have to pay a membership to join to get the stamp to show you are growing food in a sustainable way. 

A lot of the above organisations are in the game to make a profit, with animal welfare a good byproduct to target (means that the consumer can dictate as the farm depends on the public confidence to buy food). Personally I think all farms should live up to a good welfare standard regardless of a STAMP. Doesn't make sense to me..

A range of standards are considered in a farm assurance scheme (bold= important from a veterinary point of view, Italic= consumer need.):

• Hygiene and food safety- reassures customers of the product's quality.
• Housing and facilities- principles of good animal welfare.
• Plant and equipment- mechanical/electrical installation maintained.
• Feed/water- provision.
• Herd health- ability to manage stock with minimal stress or injury. 
• Stockmanship & training- knowledge and skill to care for animal- trained by farm animal practices to allow farmer to meet the needs of a more modern livestock setup. Nantwich vets. 
• Contingency procedures- proactive in prevent hazards to animal & food consumers. 

Links Within an Integrated Assurance Chain- Applies to other species. 

1. The Animal Feed Supplier

• Supplies in a pig chain to both the pig breeder & the finishing unit.
• Must provide feed in an approved manner- quantity, source etc. 

2. The Pig Breeder

• Works within constrains of performance- e.g. piglets born/sow.
• Welfare implications of breeding must be considered alongside EU legislation e.g. sow stalls.

3. Pig Finishing Unit

• Implications in terms of welfare.
• Can be detected at the abattoir- tail biting causes spinal abscesses, fighting to indicate welfare issues. 
• Work within performance constraints.

4. Abattoir

• Links between the farm and abattoir in terms of feedback is poor.
• No records kept of pig origin, batch numbers etc to give feedback.
• No records on particular pig lesions.

5. Butcher/Retailer

• Butcher provides better quality meat. 
• Some food is further processed by the prepared food/retailer. The biggest market is mince (52%) followed by ready meals (30%). 

6. Consumer Fork.

Farmers participating in food assurance schemes ( Red Tractor 2009):

• 65-90% food throughput.
• 70,000 farmers and growers.
• 6 billion worth of industry. 
• This is because it may enhance marketing opportunities both abroad and home.

Legislation underpinning farm assurance:

Food Safety Act (1990).

• Concept of 'due diligence' for retailers to sell safe food and be responsible for the raw food supply.
• Developed to give retailers similar assurance at farm level.
• Assured Food Standards LTD-> manages red tractor.
• Industry self regulation and communication for customers with equivalent standards among all logos etc.
• Funded from government, industry and industry levy bodies.

Setting Minimum Standards:

Independent board for each assurance scheme. 

• All stakeholders have input.
• NO dominant stakeholder influence (vets, farms, and food manufacturers).
• Standards take account of consumer interests- pest control, cost benefits, storage.
• Hazard based approach to standard setting e.g. poultry schemes adopted a full HACCP system.
• Standards have whole chain coverage. Includes transport.

Although there is no uniformity in farm assurance training, and no common standards. 

Participation

• Dairy industry 95%- due to price incentives. 
• Egg lion mark 85%.
• Beef and lamb 65%- due to little financial incentive, no feedback from abattoirs, a mountain of paperwork and too many diverse suppliers to one abattoir.
• Technical Advisory Committees advise different industries/schemes.
• Different schemes have common wording.

Impact of Schemes on Animal Welfare:

• Importance government recognised.
• Significant positive effects.
• Whilst lameness on dairy farms increased by 2% under assurance schemes, the levels of mastitis were significantly reduced.

Voluntary vs Mandatory impacts on welfare:

• All livestock should receive assurance from birth.
• Only British pigs require mandatory quarterly reports- due to the threat of salmonella. 
• Only chickens, eggs and poultry adopt this currently.
• For beef and lamb residence on assured farm 90 days before slaughter is all that is required. 
• The Animal Welfare Act 2006 may encourage further progress in this area.

Single Farm Payments are made to farmers if they comply with the EU legislation 2005, and inspections are made by the rural payments agency. SFP cannot be couple with farm assurance because this may direct farmers towards countryside stewards and not animal health and welfare and clean food production. 

Inspection & Monitoring- united kingdom accreditation service. 

• All certification bodies must have UKAS accreditation within EN45011 which is recognised internationally.
• Includes:

1. Annual inspections carried out by an independent body.
2. Training & review of scheme inspectors.
3. Non-compliance procedures and sanctions.

• Independent overview of food assurance with exception of organic certification. 
• From Jan 09 all organic enterprises must be accredited too. 

Non Compliance

• Dairy herd- 32% increase 2008. Failure to maintain medicines, records & movements. 

•  Beef & Lamb-165% increase in 2008 from false declarations of animal status at slaughter. 

Veterinary involvement in the scheme means assisting in farmer complicance and herd health. 

Other Monitoring of Dairy Farms:

• Dairy product regulations 1996 with amendements.
• Food hygiene regulations 2006. 
• Authorises animal health agency dairy hygiene inspectors on behalf of FSA.
• Inspect milking premises, practices and animals.
• Does not ensure welfare standards.
• Ensures raw untreated milk not sold for human consumption.