ASC gives farmers another year to comply with new standard

Ally Dingwall, ASC Chief Technical Officer, said, "These decisions reflect our commitment to supporting successful adoption of the standard while maintaining its overall ambition and direction.

"The extended transition period provides greater flexibility for farmers and allows us to continue developing the tools, guidance and support needed to help farms transition successfully. We will keep working closely with farmers and auditors throughout this process to ensure they have the resources and assistance they need.

"Feedback from mock audits, pilot audits and the first farms certified to the ASC Farm Standard has provided valuable insights into how the standard operates in practice and where we can make improvements to support effective implementation.

As implementation has progressed, ASC said it has identified opportunities to improve clarity, consistency and implementation of certain requirements.

In some cases, equivalent information is already captured through existing systems, processes or assurance mechanisms. In others, implementation experience has highlighted opportunities to refine how requirements are applied in practice.

Alison Hutchins, ASC Producer Engagement Director, said: “Implementing a new global standard is an ongoing process of learning and improvement.  Feedback from farmers, auditors and other stakeholders is helping us refine implementation and ensure the Farm Standard remains effective, credible and capable of delivering meaningful environmental and social outcomes. Our focus is on giving farms the guidance and support they need to transition successfully.”

ASC said it will continue investing in guidance, implementation tools, training and stakeholder engagement to support farms throughout the transition. Further information on the transition extension, Farm Standard V1.0.1A and supporting resources is available through the ASC Programme Centre.