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Pig and Poultry Assurance Scheme

The Environment Agency and the National Farmers' Union (NFU) have launched a new initiative to cut red tape and reduce costs for farmers.

The farm assurance scheme, for pig and poultry producers who are regulated under the Environmental Permitting Regulations, will save £880 of Environment Agency charges per farm.

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. It means just one inspection per year, instead of three, for farmers who qualify by achieving a high standard of compliance under their permit.

Certification bodies, trained by the Environment Agency, will carry out the inspections at the same time as the audits for Red Tractor farm assurance schemes.

The aims of the scheme

The Pig and Poultry Assurance Scheme is a voluntary scheme for permitted pig and poultry farms that we have assessed as low risk. It aims to:

  • provide us with reliable farm data without having to collect it;
  • allows us to focus our attention on higher risk operations;
  • strengthen our compliance with the Regulators Compliance Code;
  • meet ministerial requirements and Better Regulation aims.

Further information

For further information about the scheme please read the following factsheet:

Download the module standards and see what questions the certification bodies will answer during a visit:

Download the following factsheet to find out what plans and records you'll need to have ready for your assurance scheme visit: