Farm assuranceisproduct certification for agricultural products that emphasises the principles of quality assurance. The emphasis on quality assurance means that, in addition to product inspection, farm assurance schemes may include standards and certification for traceability, production methods, transport, and supplies.[1]
All farm assurance schemes claim to ensure high standards of animal welfare, although there is great variation in the requirements that relate to how animals should be kept and cared for.[2]
IKB (Integrated chain control system), Netherlands programme[5]
the Australian dairy industry's range of HAACP-based programmes[3]
In 2004, 65% of United Kingdom farm production was farm assured, and by 2006, £6 billion worth of food was packed annually under the United Kingdom's Red Tractor farm assurance mark, including over 90% of the country's pig and dairy production.[1][9]
Some farm assurance schemes are given legal force, either by use of trademarks or by oversight by government regulators of agriculture and food standards.
While mostly associated with food production, farm assurance can be applied to other agricultural products, such as textiles, flowers, tobacco and biofuels.
In order to obtain farm product certification, assurance may be required for farm supplies.
For example, the UK's Red Tractor scheme is supported by assurance programmes for fodder (UFAS, FEMAS) and fertiliser (FIAS).[10][11]
Other widely used agricultural quality standards are based entirely on product inspection, and do not rely on other aspects of quality assurance.
One example of such a programme is the United States Quality Standards for grading, certification and verification: the USDA beef grades depend on physical attributes of the meat, plus the age of the animal.[12]
^ ab"Farm Assurance factsheet". UK: Institute of Grocery Distribution. 7 December 2004. Archived from the original on 24 August 2007. Retrieved 22 July 2008. Over 78,000 farmers and growers in the UK are farm assured, accounting for between 65% and 90% of output in the main commodity sectors...Farm assurance is now one link in a chain of assurance, which covers areas such as agricultural inputs (e.g. feed); transport and processing.
^"Grading, certification and verification: USDA Quality Standards". USDA. Retrieved 22 July 2008. For example, Beef quality standards are based on attributes such as marbling (the amount of fat interspersed with lean meat), color, firmness, texture, and age of the animal, for each grade
Luning, P. A.; Devlieghere, F.; Verhé, R., eds. (2006). Safety in the agri-food chain. Wageningen, The Netherlands: Wageningen Academic Publishers. ISBN90-76998-77-9. OCLC60375200.
