The NFU has set out the steps it will take to deliver the recommendations made by the independent review into farm assurance, led by Dr David Llewellyn.
Commissioned by the UK farming unions and AHDB, the review made 56 recommendations, of which 13 require the NFU’s direct involvement, either in a leading or supporting role. The NFU said it will be taking these forward, working closely with other relevant stakeholders, to ‘drive much needed change and better delivery for the whole UK food supply chain and its customers’.
Some of the key areas where the NFU will be taking a leadership role include:
- Clarifying the purpose and scope of farm assurance – it will seek to give clear direction for schemes now and in the future, while recognising and delivering autonomy and value for individual farming sectors.
- Data ownership – it will work closely with AHDB to navigate the challenges of data ownership, ensuring that data collection benefits scheme members and adopting simple methods of data collection which avoid duplication and ensure that the value of data is recognised.
- Developing and implementing environmental standards – the NFU said this was about learning the lessons of the past, and that it will make sure that any environmental standards have a clear purpose and value, that communications are effective and that farmers and growers are involved in development from the start.
- Informing UK farming about standards in other nations – this is an important area of work and the NFU is committed to help bridge this knowledge gap amongst its members.
- Farm assurance for combinable crops – the NFU’s national crops board will be supporting this work with a particular focus on delivering transparency around imported grains and are calling for substantive change to current assurance.
- Ownership of Red Tractor – as part of the Red Tractor Ownership Body, the NFU said it is committed to working with the Red Tractor Board and other owners to deliver the best possible balance of active leadership alongside the Board’s operational delivery and will ensure this process happens transparently.
- A formal assessment of changes to Red Tractor – the NFU will support this work by funding (alongside AHDB and the other UK farming unions) the work of Lead Commissioner Dr David Llewellyn and Promar to independently monitor progress against the FAR’s recommendations.
NFU President Tom Bradshaw said: “It’s clear that change is needed to ensure farm assurance schemes are fit for a modern farming environment.
“The review’s recommendations reflect the key concerns of our members and the NFU is committed to playing its role in delivering these so that farmers and growers, the wider food supply chain and our customers all see the benefit.”
Monitoring actions
The UK Farm Assurance Review’s report, published in late January, require action by over 50 organisations, including the 12 farm assurance schemes studied in the Review, the four UK governments and their agencies, processors, retailers and a variety of farming organisations.
The sponsors of the Review, the AHDB and the national farming unions, have agreed that there is a need to monitor these actions to ensure that progress is made in addressing the recommendations. Dr Llewellyn has been appointed to undertake this task.
During the course of the next few weeks, a series of meetings will be held with the bodies identified in the report to brief them about the monitoring and reporting stage and to better understand how they intend to respond to the Review over the coming months.
Progress reports will be published in the early autumn this year and the early spring of 2026. “To deliver meaningful change it will be necessary for the identified organisations to participate fully in the monitoring and reporting stage, and to have time to determine how they will implement the Review’s recommendations,” Dr Llewellyn said.
“At this point, it is clear that a number of organisations have already considered the recommendations and have expressed their intent to take action, so it is anticipated that the first monitoring report, later this year, will be able to provide feedback on the actual steps that have been taken.”