I’m a farmer… get me out of the office

An inherent dislike by farmers of anything to do with the office or classroom is underlined by the Freedom Food scheme’s number one reason for non-compliance.

During assessment of nearly 2500 free range houses over the last 12 months, 171 scheme members failed to meet the required standard because of a lack of records, written policies or insufficient training.

Perhaps surprisingly, second on the list of transgressions—revealed to the Ranger by Freedom Food’s technical development manager Bob Waller—was the simple matter of failing to keep the area around the hen house clean and tidy which led to the issuing of 102 non-compliance notices, while 75 producers were pulled up for poor litter quality.

Insufficient overhead shade, beak trimming carried out at the wrong age and a lack of precautions to protect hens from predators and rodents were also among frequent non-compliances.

Around 35 per cent of visits by either Freedom Food assessors or RSPCA monitors involved some degree of non-compliance, said Mr Waller, explaining that continued scheme membership relied on producers putting matters right.

“When non-compliances are discovered we have to be satisfied that scheme members have not only taken the appropriate action to ensure full compliance but also minimised the risk of a reoccurrence,” he said.

“Producers are likely to find an increasing demand on them to not only supply details of corrective actions, but also provide objective evidence to prove remedial action has been taken.”

Non-compliance with the standards led to suspension or withdrawal of certification in 18 instances. For one producer “Roof not waterproof, litter capped and no access to litter or range” led to suspension while “Nest boxes dirty and overstocked” was the cause of suspension for another.

Eventual withdrawal of certification for one member was the outcome of “poor drainage leading to the building flooding along with a lack of range management”, while another had certification immediately withdrawn having received non-Freedom Food approved pullets.

Suspension can prove costly, and while producers can apply for a re-assessment the next day, it is at the full cost of £95 followed by another three visits at monthly intervals, again at full cost.

“It is not our intention to catch members out and we much prefer to see full compliance but if the integrity of the Freedom Food scheme is to be upheld then it is essential that standards are rigorously enforced,” said Mr Waller.