As a farm vet – and even more so as a farmer’s wife – I am very conscious of the daily constraints and pressures farmers find themselves under.  It feels like farm businesses are continually challenged by external pressures, be it government, local authorities or auditing bodies, and as a result it sometimes feels like the paperwork and legislative regulations are more important to these organisations than the animals and the farmers themselves. Part of the reason my husband and I opened our own farm vet practice was to challenge the way things are, and to find ways to support local farmers.

As well as a clinical farm vet, I also sit on the British Cattle Veterinary Association (BCVA) board of directors, and have done for the last six years after being elected by the BCVA members. As part of this role, I joined the Red Tractor Dairy Sector Board (RTDSB) and previously sat on the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) too. The RTDSB meet in person at their London offices three times a year and have several online meetings throughout the year. Sitting around that table over the last few years has given me the opportunity to represent vets and their farm clients during some very important and frank discussions, most recently during the Standards review process. Red Tractor has just opened their Beef, Lamb and Dairy standards review consultation and it is time for farmers to have their say!

It feels like positive change is coming. It started with Red Tractor listening to our feedback regarding the huge frustration and, in many cases, complete disillusion with the auditing process. Over the last year, the TAC and sector boards have gone through the standards line by line, drawing on the experience of everyone around the table: farmers, vets and technical experts across the supply chain. The focus has been very clear from the start – we wanted to remove duplication, simplify requirements and look at a more farm-specific approach to health planning. We want the standards, and therefore the wider audit process, to be less burdensome, while making it clearer and more practical. It feels like this is now a possible reality – the new proposal includes standards where the audit points for Beef and Lamb have been reduced by a third and Dairy by a quarter. Beef and Lamb would move from 267 to 149 audit points, while Dairy would move from 377 to 238.

These proposed new standards have been presented for the consultation, and it is a great opportunity for farmers to look at them and comment. Will they work on farm? Will the changes be better? What else needs changing? These are all questions that need answering by the people affected.

While the standards have been condensed, farmers will still be expected to maintain the high level of animal welfare and care they are delivering, as always. Hopefully these changes will pave the way for wider recognition for the farmers who are achieving this. I strongly believe there must be acknowledgement for the farmers who are maintaining such high standards, whether this be through reward or lower frequency inspections for example.

The proposed changes are summarised on the Red Tractor website at redtractor.org.uk/bld-consultation. But below is a condensed overview of some of the key take home messages for areas BCVA have been directly involved with in terms of offering expert opinion:

1. Youngstock

• Most existing requirements have been retained but they have been consolidated and simplified.
• Greater emphasis has been placed on social contact between youngstock, with visual and tactile contact required where appropriate.
• Milk-feeding requirements are clarified, including guidance around adequate milk volumes.
  • Red Tractor has added guidance around milk feeding, with the consultation document referring to milk volumes of 15–20% of bodyweight to support growth and development.
  • The existing requirements remain for at least two milk feeds/day to 28 days and no calf weaning before five weeks, alongside access to dry feed/forage from an early age.
• For dairy, milk containing antibiotic residues must not be fed to youngstock.

2. Housing & facilities

• Standards are streamlined, with requirements for space, ventilation, bedding, flooring and cleanliness brought together.
• Stocking density/space requirements are strengthened and have been proposed to become key standards.
• There is a new emphasis on shade during extreme weather.
• Dairy recommendations include providing more cubicles than cows, environmental enrichment and ensuring competent foot trimming.

3. Animal medicines

• Requirements have been simplified, while maintaining standards for storage, recording, disposal and responsible use.
• For dairy, antibiotic dry cow therapy must follow an individual cow risk assessment, rather than routine blanket use.
• Greater emphasis has been placed on competence and training of people administering medicines.
  • For Dairy, the proposal is that any person administering medicines must have undertaken approved medicine training within the previous five years and hold evidence of competence/attendance. This therefore moves beyond having simply one trained person responsible for medicines.

4. Animal health

• A significant change has been made, moving from a prescriptive health plan towards a farm-specific annual Health Review and Action Plan, led by the farm’s vet.
• The review should identify the farm’s key health, disease, medicine and performance risks and agree practical actions and timescales.
• Greater focus has been placed on contingency planning for diseases that could result in movement restrictions or lockdown.
• Pain relief following painful procedures and for painful conditions is promoted as a recommendation.

5. Milk production

• Standards are largely restructured and aligned more closely with legislation, with duplication removed.
• Annual water testing has become a proposed requirement, alongside clearer milk hygiene and milking-area standards.
• Feed plans for the different dairy groups have become a full standard.
• Stronger requirements around recording, reporting and investigating antibiotic milk failures have been introduced, with repeated failures triggering medicine training.
  • There is a specific proposal that two or more antibiotic milk failures within an 18-month rolling period will trigger approved medicine training for the relevant personnel.

These are all proposed changes, and won’t necessarily be implemented – that is why feedback is so important at this stage. It must be submitted though the consultation portal before the 3^rd November 2026. Changes aren’t likely to come into effect until 2027 at least. Keep an eye on Homefield Farm Vets‘ social media pages and website, as we will be providing regular updates and more information on this over the coming months.