Red Tractor revamps app to reduce paperwork for farmers

Red Tractor has launched an overhaul of its member portal, aiming to reduce the amount of paperwork farmers have to complete.

The update will allow farmers to take photos on their mobile phones while carrying out farm practices linked to compliance, and then submit them direct to Red Tractor.

Details including the time, date and location of the photos will be recorded as part of the audit process and can be used in place of farmers having to manually record information.

See also: Red Tractor announces major review of farm standards

Philippa Wiltshire, director of standards and operations at Red Tractor, said: “This addresses a genuine frustration farmers and growers have shared, which is maintaining paper records for routine tasks that could be evidenced far more efficiently.”

It is hoped this will streamline the recording of many routine tasks on farm such as cleaning grain stores and changing milk liners.

The latest changes introduced by Red Tractor form part of its response to the Farm Assurance Review, which included recommendations around simplifying on-farm audits and embracing technology.

Red Tractor has also partnered with farm management and safety platform MeritAgCheck to develop crop checklists, which are due to launch shortly.

MeritAgCheck managing director Jon Stewart said: “Having the Red Tractor requirements built directly into MeritAgCheck means farmers can capture the information once and use it for multiple purposes, including their farm assurance.

“The integration makes the process much smoother for our customers and ensures they stay audit‑ready without extra admin, saving them time that they can re-invest into other activities.”

Ms Wiltshire said Red Tractor wanted to work with companies whose existing reporting could overlap, in order to reduce duplication.

The farm assurance scheme has also created a shortlist function to flag documents that need to be uploaded prior to on-farm assessments.