Farm assurance specialists Acoura have been appointed by The Pasture-Fed Livestock Association (PFLA) as inspection provider for their Pasture for Life certification scheme.
Their aim is to promote high quality meat production by encouraging farmers to feed their ruminant livestock solely on grass and forage crops, rather than cereals or concentrates. Those who meet the scheme’s criteria will be able to enjoy a number of benefits, including producing meat that is highly valued by consumers, access to premium market outlets and expert technical knowledge on all aspects of pasture farming.
Acoura already offers on-farm livestock assessments for the likes of Red Tractor, Quality Meat Scotland and OF&G. Tim Bailey, Acoura’s Managing Director for Agriculture and Food Manufacturing, feels that the addition of Pasture for Life will enable his team to offer a more complete service to UK farmers.
He said: “While Acoura operates across the food and drink supply chain, we’ve always recognised our agriculture work, particularly within the red meat sector, sits at the heart of our business.
“Each year we provide around 16,000 inspections on livestock and dairy farms across the UK. By adding this service to our offering we can really help reduce hassle to farmers by combining on-site inspections. In addition to this, I’m also delighted to be working with the PFLA as I believe we share a firm commitment to using innovation in an effort to help our customers and strengthen the sector.”
The certification standards behind the Pasture for Life scheme were first produced in 2011 and have since been developed to include sheep and lamb as well as cattle. The PFLA has 180 members and 45 certified farmers across the UK. There are now 10,000ha of farmland being managed to these standards.
Certified farmers must ensure their livestock meet an extremely high level of animal welfare and eat only grass, straw and forage crops. Additionally, packaging bearing the scheme’s certification mark can be tracked by scanning a QR code, revealing the full life history of each animal – ensuring the highest level of supply chain traceability.
Anna Bassett, a PFLA Director and Chair of the Standards and Certification committees, is pleased to be working with Acoura.
She said: “Third party on-farm auditing is the next important step in PFLA’s development as a credible certification for farmers and a sought-after label for consumers. The knowledge and expertise offered by Acoura’s team ensure that on-farm certification will be robust but practical. With Acoura we have an auditing partner who understands what we and our farmer members are working to achieve.”
For more information visit http://www.acoura.com
Submitted by Chris Hammond
