Don’t Fail Your Next Farm Audit – 4 Must-Know Tips!
Ensure you are prepared for your next farm assurance audit! Farm assurance audits are vital for compliance, traceability, and farm efficiency. Proper preparation can make the process stress-free. Here’s our comprehensive guide on what you need to know:
1. Keep Accurate & Up-to-Date Records
Auditors require detailed records of:
- Livestock movements – Ensure all births, sales, purchases, and movements are logged with the correct dates and identification numbers. Keeping these records up-to-date helps prove traceability and animal welfare compliance.
- Medicine usage & withdrawals – Record every treatment given to livestock, including batch numbers, dosages, and withdrawal periods. This is crucial to meeting food safety standards and preventing cross-contamination.
- Feed & water records – Maintain records of feed sources, purchase receipts, and consumption rates. Auditors may request this information to verify that livestock receive appropriate nutrition and that feed complies with assurance schemes.
- Animal health & welfare – Keep track of veterinary visits, disease control measures, and any preventative treatments such as vaccinations. These records help demonstrate compliance with welfare regulations.
- Replacement tags – Ensure all livestock are correctly identified with up-to-date tag records. Missing or incorrect tags can lead to non-compliance penalties during audits.
- Milk Recording Compliance – Ensure you comply with milk recording requirements under the UK Dairy Assurance Scheme. Accurate records of milk production and quality testing are essential for demonstrating compliance.
- Sustainability Practices – Increasingly, auditors are focusing on sustainability. Document your efforts to reduce emissions, manage waste, and maintain biodiversity on your farm, as these practices may be evaluated during your audit.
2. Stay Audit-Ready All Year Round
| Regularly review audit checklists – Each farm assurance scheme, such as Red Tractor, QMS, FAWL, and NIBL FQAS has specific requirements. Reviewing checklists frequently ensures you remain compliant throughout the year, rather than rushing at the last minute. Keep all required documentation easily accessible – Organised record-keeping ensures you can quickly present the necessary paperwork to auditors. |
3. Be Prepared for Spot Checks
- Train staff on compliance procedures – Ensure everyone on your farm understands what’s required for audits and follows best practice daily. This minimises disruptions during inspections.
- Maintain up-to-date records – Spot checks can happen at any time, so it’s essential to keep records accurate and current rather than scrambling to catch up before an audit.
- Use a digital system for instant access – Paper records can be lost or damaged, making digital record-keeping a more reliable option. Having everything stored in one place simplifies retrieval and verification.
4. Simplify the Process with Herdwatch
Using Herdwatch makes farm audits effortless:
- Instant Compliance Reports – Generate detailed reports with just a few clicks, ensuring auditors have the necessary data.
- Paperless Record-Keeping – Store all essential records in one secure place, reducing paperwork clutter and improving efficiency.
- Barcode Scanner for Medicines – Scan medicine barcodes to automatically log purchase details, batch numbers, and expiry dates, making compliance seamless.
- Milk recording requirements – record drying off dates, milk yields, body condition scores, and health / performance records straight into the app. You can even link your account to NMR and see your whole herd and individual animal statistics from your pocket!
- Mobile Access for On-the-Go Updates – Record farm data anytime, anywhere, even offline, ensuring no detail is missed.
