Compliance Management for Livestock Farming
Handle Red Tractor standards, movement records, and medicine compliance with digital tools built for livestock production.
The Challenge
Livestock farmers operate under intense regulatory scrutiny where a single compliance failure can shut down your business overnight. BCMS and ARAMS movement reporting must be completed within strict time limits or face cross-compliance penalties; veterinary medicine records demand precise documentation of every treatment with accurate withdrawal period tracking to prevent meat entering the food chain; Red Tractor Beef & Lamb assessments require comprehensive welfare and health records; TB testing schedules in high-risk areas create administrative burdens; and animal identification from birth to slaughter must be bulletproof for traceability. Paper medicine books become illegible in muddy yards, movement documents are scattered across office drawers, and tag replacement records exist only in memory. When Trading Standards arrive unannounced or the Red Tractor assessor requests three years of medicine records, you need every animal movement, every treatment, and every welfare check documented and accessible - not a desperate search through dusty filing cabinets while inspectors wait.
How Assistant Manager Solves Livestock Farming Compliance
Each module is designed to address the specific challenges livestock farming businesses face every day.
Checklist Management
Livestock farms must demonstrate daily welfare checks for Red Tractor and APHA requirements, with systematic documentation critical during high-risk periods like lambing and extreme weather
The Problems
Why This Matters for Livestock Farming
- Daily livestock welfare checks are rushed during bad weather or busy periods like lambing, with farmers relying on memory rather than systematic recording of animal condition and any concerns
Deteriorating animal welfare goes unnoticed until serious problems develop, and you cannot prove to Red Tractor or APHA that daily inspections were actually carried out
- Water trough checks, feed verification, and building safety inspections slip during lambing or calving when you are focused entirely on new arrivals
Frozen water troughs, empty feeders, or dangerous building defects develop without detection, creating welfare issues and potential prosecution risks
The Solution
How Checklist Management Helps
GPS-located livestock welfare checklists with photo evidence requirements, weather-triggered alerts, and building condition monitoring schedules
Every field and building is checked systematically with location-verified evidence, welfare concerns are flagged immediately for follow-up, and inspection records are automatically compiled for auditors
Use Cases:
- • Daily livestock welfare inspection with condition scoring
- • Water and feed availability verification by field or building
- • Lambing and calving period intensive welfare monitoring
- • Building and fencing safety inspection schedules
- • Extreme weather response checks with photo evidence
- • Bedding and housing condition documentation
- • Livestock handling facility pre-use safety checks
- • Pre-transport welfare assessment checklists
Feature Screenshot
Checklist Management
Real-World Examples
Example 1: Daily livestock welfare checks are rushed during bad weather or busy periods like lambing, with farmers relying on memory rather than systematic recording of animal condition and any concerns
Real Scenario
"During a prolonged cold spell, you check cattle daily but do not record it. Two weeks later, Trading Standards investigate a welfare complaint from a walker. You have no written evidence that cattle were inspected daily or that you responded to worsening weather conditions."
Example 2: Water trough checks, feed verification, and building safety inspections slip during lambing or calving when you are focused entirely on new arrivals
Real Scenario
"During a busy calving period, a water trough freezes and you do not notice for two days because systematic checks were abandoned. A calf becomes dehydrated. Your vet reports concerns to APHA and they find no records of daily water checks."
Accident & Incident Records
Livestock farms need animal-specific incident tracking for welfare investigations, mortality reporting to APHA when required, and pattern analysis to identify health problems or welfare concerns early
The Problems
Why This Matters for Livestock Farming
- Animal welfare incidents like injuries, difficult births, or unexpected deaths are dealt with immediately but formal recording is delayed or forgotten in the pressure of the moment
When questioned by vets, APHA, or Red Tractor assessors about mortality patterns or welfare concerns, you have incomplete records that cannot demonstrate appropriate response
- Livestock handling incidents where cattle or sheep injure workers or members of the public go unrecorded unless serious injury occurs
Near-miss patterns that predict serious incidents are missed, you cannot demonstrate livestock handling risk management to HSE, and your insurance company has no data on incident frequency
The Solution
How Accident & Incident Records Helps
Mobile animal incident reporting with individual animal tracking, cause analysis, APHA notification integration, and mortality pattern analysis
Every welfare incident, injury, or death is documented with animal identification and circumstances, mortality patterns are identified automatically, and APHA reporting obligations are flagged
Use Cases:
- • Individual animal injury or illness incident recording
- • Mortality documentation with cause identification and vet notes
- • Difficult birth or lambing assistance documentation
- • Livestock handling incident and near-miss reporting
- • Disease outbreak incident management and spread tracking
- • APHA notifiable disease reporting triggers
- • Livestock escape or containment failure documentation
- • Public interaction incidents (walkers, dog attacks)
Feature Screenshot
Accident & Incident Records
Real-World Examples
Example 1: Animal welfare incidents like injuries, difficult births, or unexpected deaths are dealt with immediately but formal recording is delayed or forgotten in the pressure of the moment
Real Scenario
"Over lambing season, you lose 8 lambs to various causes. When your Red Tractor assessor asks about mortality rates and causes, you can only remember vague details. They flag this as a non-conformance because you cannot demonstrate investigation or pattern analysis."
Example 2: Livestock handling incidents where cattle or sheep injure workers or members of the public go unrecorded unless serious injury occurs
Real Scenario
"A bull charges three different people over 6 months, with no injuries but clearly dangerous behavior. Nobody records these incidents. When the bull finally injures someone seriously, HSE investigation reveals the pattern and questions why the bull remained in use."
COSHH Management
Livestock farms must maintain COSHH records for veterinary medicines, sheep dips, and agricultural chemicals, with immediate access to safety information critical for emergency response and food safety compliance
The Problems
Why This Matters for Livestock Farming
- Veterinary medicine cabinets contain dozens of products with critical withdrawal periods, but paper medicine books do not link products to safety data or provide emergency information
When accidents occur (needlestick injuries, product spills, accidental human exposure), you waste critical minutes searching for safety information instead of responding immediately
- Sheep dips, pour-on treatments, and disinfectants are stored in various buildings with no central register or safety information accessible at point of use
Product storage does not comply with COSHH requirements, operators handle products without knowing correct PPE requirements, and environmental incidents occur due to incorrect disposal
The Solution
How COSHH Management Helps
Veterinary medicine and chemical register with integrated safety data sheets, withdrawal period calculators, and mobile access to emergency procedures
Every product in your farm has current SDS accessible from your phone, emergency response information is available at point of use, and withdrawal periods are calculated automatically for food safety
Use Cases:
- • Veterinary medicine register with integrated safety data sheets
- • Emergency response procedures for needlestick and chemical exposure
- • Sheep dip chemical management and applicator licensing tracking
- • Pour-on and injectable product storage compliance
- • Disinfectant and cleaning chemical documentation
- • Waste veterinary medicine disposal records
- • Environmental incident procedures (dip spills, chemical leaks)
- • Withdrawal period calculator integration with treatment records
Feature Screenshot
COSHH Management
Real-World Examples
Example 1: Veterinary medicine cabinets contain dozens of products with critical withdrawal periods, but paper medicine books do not link products to safety data or provide emergency information
Real Scenario
"A stockman accidentally injects himself with LA during cattle worming. He panics - is this product dangerous? You spend 15 minutes searching online for the safety data sheet while he worries. The SDS should have been instantly accessible."
Example 2: Sheep dips, pour-on treatments, and disinfectants are stored in various buildings with no central register or safety information accessible at point of use
Real Scenario
"During a Red Tractor audit, the assessor asks for COSHH assessments and safety data sheets for the five dip products in your sheep shed. You produce three SDSs, but two products have no documentation and one turned out to have been banned 18 months ago."
Risk Assessment
Livestock farming is one of the most dangerous occupations in the UK, with cattle and sheep handling creating unique risks that require specific, regularly reviewed risk assessments rather than generic templates
The Problems
Why This Matters for Livestock Farming
- Generic livestock handling risk assessments cover cattle or sheep in general, but do not address specific risks of your bulls, rams, or aggressive individuals
When a bull or ram injures someone, HSE discovers your risk assessment is generic and does not identify or control the specific animal behavioral risks present on your farm
- Seasonal operations like lambing, TB testing, and shearing are carried out annually without updated risk assessments reflecting changed procedures, different staff, or new equipment
Outdated risk assessments do not reflect actual hazards, leaving seasonal workers or contractors exposed to risks you never identified or controlled
The Solution
How Risk Assessment Helps
Animal-specific risk assessments for dangerous livestock, seasonal operation risk reviews, and contractor risk assessment generation tool
Every bull, ram, and dangerous individual is risk-assessed separately, seasonal operations are reviewed before each period, and contractors receive site-specific safety briefings
Use Cases:
- • Bull and aggressive cattle individual risk assessments
- • Ram handling and tupping season risk management
- • Lambing and calving period operation risk assessments
- • TB testing day risk assessment and vet/contractor briefing
- • Sheep shearing contractor risk management
- • Livestock handling facility and race risk assessment
- • Lone working risk management for remote field checks
- • Young worker and family member risk assessment for farm visits
Feature Screenshot
Risk Assessment
Real-World Examples
Example 1: Generic livestock handling risk assessments cover cattle or sheep in general, but do not address specific risks of your bulls, rams, or aggressive individuals
Real Scenario
"Your breeding bull has become increasingly aggressive. When he finally injures a relief worker, HSE prosecution reveals your risk assessment is a generic "cattle handling" template from 2018 with no mention of bull-specific risks or controls."
Example 2: Seasonal operations like lambing, TB testing, and shearing are carried out annually without updated risk assessments reflecting changed procedures, different staff, or new equipment
Real Scenario
"You use a contractor for shearing who brings his own equipment and team. An injury occurs. HSE investigation reveals you have no risk assessment for shearing contractors, no documented briefing on livestock handling procedures, and no record of checking their competence."
Training & Development
Livestock farms require stockmen competence in animal handling, medicine administration, and welfare assessment, with formal training records critical for Red Tractor and HSE compliance
The Problems
Why This Matters for Livestock Farming
- Stockmen are expected to handle antibiotics, perform minor veterinary treatments, and identify welfare concerns, but training is informal "watch and learn" with no documented competence
Incorrect medicine administration leads to treatment failure or withdrawal period errors, welfare concerns are missed, and you cannot prove staff competence to auditors
- Seasonal staff arrive for lambing or calving with no documented induction to your livestock, facilities, or emergency procedures
Untrained staff handle stock incorrectly, do not know emergency procedures, and create animal welfare or safety risks through ignorance
The Solution
How Training & Development Helps
Livestock-specific competence tracking, online seasonal staff induction, medicine handling training records, and automatic certificate expiry alerts
Every staff member completes documented livestock handling training before working alone, seasonal workers receive site-specific induction, and critical certificates like medicine competence are tracked with renewal reminders
Use Cases:
- • Livestock handling competence training and assessment
- • Veterinary medicine administration training with certification
- • Seasonal lambing/calving staff induction with sign-off
- • Animal welfare assessment training (body condition scoring)
- • Emergency procedures training (difficult births, injuries, escapes)
- • ATV and farm vehicle operation competence
- • Bull and aggressive animal handling safety training
- • First aid certificate tracking for remote working
Feature Screenshot
Training & Development
Real-World Examples
Example 1: Stockmen are expected to handle antibiotics, perform minor veterinary treatments, and identify welfare concerns, but training is informal "watch and learn" with no documented competence
Real Scenario
"During a Red Tractor audit, you state that your stockman routinely treats cattle under veterinary direction. The assessor asks for training records. You have no documentation that he was ever trained in injection technique, medicine handling, or withdrawal period compliance."
Example 2: Seasonal staff arrive for lambing or calving with no documented induction to your livestock, facilities, or emergency procedures
Real Scenario
"You hire temporary staff for lambing. On her first night shift, a ewe has a difficult lambing. The worker does not know where equipment is stored, how to contact the vet, or the farm emergency procedures. By the time help arrives, you have lost the ewe and both lambs."
Results Livestock Farming Businesses Achieve
Other Agriculture & Farming Solutions
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