An industry-wide review of farm to fork assurance has been officially launched with the announcement of the independent commissioners panel which will oversee the review.
The independent review has been jointly commissioned by the National Farmers Union (NFU) and The Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) along with NFU Cymru, The Ulster Farmers Union (UFU) and NFU Scotland (NFUS), who will all form part of the assurance review steering group, which has overall responsibility for its delivery.
The review will examine:
How farm assurance can deliver value back to scheme members;
How standards are developed to meet the evolving needs of members, the markets they serve, sector diversity and in appreciation of the global marketplace;
How assurance members are engaged with (including the development of standards) and inspected, and how technology is used in assurance now and in future;
How assurance schemes can and should fit with regulation and government schemes to best serve members.
Dr David Llewellyn CBE, lead commissioner, said: “I look forward to getting the review under way, and to the commission engaging with the industry to see how the assurance system can meet the future needs of food producers while underpinning our collective aim to continue, and further develop, the delivery of a high-quality UK food system.”
Round-up
Bullocks at St Boswells yesterday averaged 290p/kg and sold to 330p/kg, while heifers averaged 302p/kg and sold to 338p/kg, and cast cows averaged 172p/kg and sold to 225p/kg or £1725/head. The extraordinary demand for hoggs continues, and yesterday saw them averaging 400p/kg (+39p on the week) and selling to £300 for Texels. Cast sheep averaged £121/head and sold to £300 for a Texel ewe, while heavy ewes and light ewes sold to £152 and £141 respectively.
Hoggets continued to meet with demand at Ayr yesterday, averaging 378p/kg or £162/head and selling to £232/head for Texels from East Moorhouse or to 454p/kg for Beltexes from Balcaimie. Blackie hoggets averaged 368p/kg or £152/head and sold to £200/head for Linfairn and Netherwood or to 405p/kg for Adamscroft. Cast sheep met with great demand with Blackie ewes particularly sought after, topping at £127/head for Girvan Mains with the overall sale peaking at £227 for a pure Texel from Valleyview. And Blurfaced Leicesters from Craig led the tup trade at £172.
Prime beef-bred heifers at Lanark yesterday were largely unchanged on the week at an average of 300p/kg and sold to 345p/kg for a Limousin cross, while bullocks rose slightly to an average of 286p/kg and sold to 300p/kg for a Limousin. Cast beef and dairy cows rose by 3p on the week to averages of 188p/kg and 149p/kg respectively, while hoggets rose significantly on the week to average 379p/kg and sold £290/head or 468p/kg.
Prime heifers at Carlisle yesterday were largely unchanged at an average of 292p/kg and sold to 365p/kg, while prime beef-bred bullocks rose by 4p on the week to average 292p/kg and sold to 322p/kg. Young beef-bred bulls continued to meet with demand, averaging 271p/kg, and sold to 325p/kg. And a shortage of cast bulls led to a rise of 39p on the week to an average of 241p/kg and a peak of 282p/kg.
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