What schemes do you audit?

We audit the Beef and Lamb Quality Assurance and the Sustainable Dairy Assurance Scheme (SDAS) on behalf of Bord Bia. We have 65 self-employed contractors, who carry out the audits.

What’s the biggest weakness of QA schemes?

Lack of understanding among the farmers on the ground of the key benefits of the QA and Origin Green programme and how it is enabling Bord Bia and food industry marketeers to sell Irish product into a world market at a premium.

Are QA schemes viewed with scepticism by farmers?

In general, the majority of farmers recognise the need for QA schemes and are willing participants but there can be an air of frustration or scepticism. This can be fuelled by the fact that many farmers feel the benefit of their participation in QA schemes is felt only by the factories and processors and that any premium received for QA product is not making its way back to the primary producer.

Is there a gap in training around compliance?

Yes. However, the ICOS Skillnet programme with Bord Bia hopes to address this. It will show producers and their families how to maintain and understand the importance of record keeping. Also co-ops have been proactively training and educating their own staff and these in turn have been able to educate and train their suppliers through one-to-one meetings, group events and newsletters.

What are the biggest challenges around compliance?

Record keeping is the most common issue, particularly in relation to animal remedy usage records. Keeping these details up to date in a timely and accurate manner is a challenge, especially now where farmers are expanding and on-farm help is difficult to source. It has become common for a spouse to work off-farm and often help that was there previously is no longer available or is limited. Health and safety and pollution issues also are an ongoing challenge for producers.

Will farmers see more audits in the future?

The market determines what audits are required, together with EU regulation, cross compliance and consumer demands. It is possible that the current audits will evolve over time. Bord Bia continuously reviews the market and when updating the standards would look to see what is expected to maintain and grow market share.

Some international companies have opted to not enforce their own QA and sustainability schemes on Irish producers as they recognise the Bord Bia schemes as robust, accredited schemes that match or surpass the standards in their own scheme criteria.

Audits can be stressful – how can you minimise this?

Most of the auditors are farmers themselves and have a good understanding of the issues on the ground. We also invite auditors to attend sessions with Pieta House, Lisheen House and bereavement counselling to assist auditors with difficult individual situations.

Title: Maire Ahern McCarthy, head of auditing, Capita Customer Solutions (formerly South Western)

Farms audited annually: c. 22,000

Outsourcing Partners with Bord Bia since 2006.