UK: Final reports on English farmgate standards released

The reports compare beef and lamb standards of the key voluntary assurance schemes in North America and South America with those in England. As with the first (Australia and New Zealand) and second (Europe) reports, they found that Red Tractor scored higher than other schemes overall, primarily because it covers a wider range of factors, and often in greater depth, than the other schemes in the studies. Red Tractor standards are also more prescriptive in nature compared to other schemes. The independently reviewed reports focused on both the underpinning legislation and key voluntary assurance standards within each country of focus. Direct comparison of the schemes identified was not possible due to the variation of scope and sectors they covered. Therefore, Birnie Consultancy, who were commissioned to review each scheme, used 14 categories against which each scheme was scrutinised and scored, such as husbandry procedures, biosecurity and disease control, and ...