Bord Bia has confirmed to Agriland that the new producer standard for beef, sheep and dairy farmers will not be agreed before the end of the year.
The new quality assurance (QA) standard will replace the current farm standards for beef, sheep and dairy into one “consolidated standard”.
The new standard is being discussed by a specially-appointed Technical Advisory Committees (TAC) and meetings are continuing.
The committees oversee the development of Bord Bia producer standards, including the Sustainable Beef and Lamb Assurance Scheme (SBLAS), the Sustainable Dairy Assurance Scheme (SDAS), and the new producer standard.
A Bord Bia spokesperson said that the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) and the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers’ Association (ICMSA) are “both engaged in the process”.
The IFA has already voiced its concerns that the new standard must be a “simple process that is more user friendly” for farmers.
A Bord Bia representative previously told farmers at a meeting in Co. Cavan that the key objective to the new audit approach will be “to minimise audit time whilst meeting the needs for a standardised, verifiable mechanism to confirm compliance with the standard that will be recognised internationally”.
Once there is agreement on the draft criteria, Bord Bia will then conduct pilot audits in order to “road test” draft criteria and gather feedback from both farmers and auditors regarding the “practicalities and auditability” of criteria.
“At the same time, the draft criteria will be submitted to Irish National Accreditation Board (INAB) for technical review.
“The TACs will then review the feedback from both phases (pilot audits and INAB review) to formalise a final copy of the standard for agreement,” a spokesperson for Bord Bia told Agriland.
They added that “the new standard will not be agreed before the end of the year”.