Eligible producers will need to renew their contract with a certification body or form a new contract with another certification body by 18 March 2011. Otherwise, they will not be eligible to join (or re-join) until 1 April 2012. The Agency has changed one of the eligibility criteria from last year which means that more producers should be able to participate. The Agency’s intention is to double the numbers of producers involved from about 400 to 800 from April this year.

Since the IPPC assurance module, as an adjunct to the Red Tractor Assurance scheme, was made available in April 2010 some 449 farms (of the 584 eligible) have chosen to participate. The scheme allows farmers with a higher level of compliance with their permit to receive fewer Environment Agency visits, saving around £880 a year in Agency fees. Certification bodies, trained by the Environment Agency, carry out the inspections at the same time as the audits for Red Tractor farm assurance schemes.

The scheme has been developed with Assured Food Standards and with the support of the National Pig Association, the British Poultry Council and the British Egg Industry Council. You can read about the scheme by clicking here.