Who are Approved Suppliers?
Approved suppliers are those members who have agreed to manage their farms and their livestock according to the PFLA standards and regulations. Approved suppliers will already be members (paying £50 per year) and in addition pay a headage payment (currently £1/LSU) based upon the number of Livestock Units (LSUs) harvested for sale as pasture-fed under the Pastoral brand. You can download our producer information brochure for more details here.
What do Processors and Retailers have to do?
Processors and retailers do not have to pay this additional fee but are still required to apply as an Approved Supplier and conform to the PFLA Standards before they can use the Pastoral Symbol. For retailers (including producers who sell direct to the end consumer) a short application to capture some basic information is required. Further information on becoming an Approved Retailer is available here.
How to become an Approved Supplier
To join the growing network of approved suppliers there are a few simple steps that you need to follow:
- Become a full member of the PFLA. Further details available here.
- Fill out the "Business Details" section under the "My Pasture-Fed" page when logged in. This includes information such as your herd or flock number and most common breed of livestock, enabling you to save time later on. Also you need to complete the "Website Profile" page located in the same place, which will act as your virtual ‘Shop Front’ to members of the public, other members of the PFLA and your customers.
- Complete the Approved Supplier Application Form here (you must be logged in to apply) and click "Submit" at the bottom.
- The PFLA Certification committee will check your application form and then ask you to fill out a self assessment form in relation to the PFLA standards.
- Providing there are no further issues or derogations to discuss your approved supplier status will be confirmed.
For further guidance on becoming an approved supplier take a look at our help guide here.
Approved Supplier Inspections
Since any labelling of Beef in particular, must comply with European regulation, namely the Approved Beef Labelling Scheme, an independent audit of the supply chain is required to confirm that the product is what it says it is. This means that farms, processors and retailers must be checked and audited. So far the PFLA have developed a system whereby on-farm inspections to verify a producer’s Pastoral status can be bolted-on to some existing farm assurance inspections as an additional module. This has been encouraged so as to avoid duplication of on-farm inspections taking up valuable time.
The PFLA’s certification committee is working to improve this process further and there is a possibility that we may be able to work with other certifying bodies to bolt on to other assurance schemes as well. Please visit Frequently Asked Questions or use the Contact Us facility if you wish to find out more on certification.