Pearse and Deirdre Lyons could not have known when they met decades ago as teens at a Dublin rugby club dance that they would one day find themselves driving around the streets of a section of the Irish capital known as the Liberties in search of just the right place to house their legacy.

This quest was not about Alltech, the global animal health and nutrition company they had founded and nurtured to remarkable success. This was personal.

The story, one animated by shared imagination and powerful determination to overcome all manner of obstacles, is expressed in the location, history and reincarnation of a deconsecrated church that had known better days.

And who better to relate the story of Pearse Lyons Distillery at St. James than the Lyonses themselves?

Photo Credit: Conor McCabe Photography Ltd

Locating their legacy

Pearse recalled the day he and his wife Deirdre explored the Liberties district, one of Dublin’s most historic neighborhoods that had once hosted dozens of breweries and distilleries.

“I wanted something in Dublin, and I wanted something that would be close to Guinness for the simple reason that 1.6 million people visit Guinness every year,” he explained. “I’m a businessman, and I thought, ‘Okay, I need someplace close to the 1.6 million people.’ So I was looking in that vicinity.”

“It just so happened that we were driving down James’s Street,” said Deirdre. “This is the area where Pearse’s father and grandfather and his grandfather before him all grew up. Pearse's very first job was at Irish Distillers, which was, at that time Paddy, Powers and Jameson whiskey.”

They came upon St. James, a church that had been built before the signing of the Magna Carta. In the last century, it had been repurposed as a warehouse and a store, but it was sitting abandoned.

Pearse saw past its state of disrepair and envisioned the opportunity as real estate just steps away from Guinness.

He bought it.

Was there hope in this forsaken place?

“My first thought was, ‘Oh, no!’” said Deirdre. “When we walked in, I couldn’t believe it.”

It was bad. Very bad.

“The roof was leaking in many places,” she said. “We had all kinds of water damage, plaster damage and neglect. The beautiful stone columns that had come from Caen in Normandy were painted magenta. Where the beautiful ceiling is now, previous owners had hacked out the stone on each side and put in steel beams and a staircase for a mezzanine and above that, another mezzanine. All the windows were blocked up with cement blocks, both inside and outside.”

Additionally, they soon discovered that a buddleia, or butterfly bush, had started to grow from the top of the church. It was so powerful that the roots had come down and broken through a wall 9 feet thick.

At this point, many would likely begin having serious second thoughts. The Lyonses instead prepared themselves to move forward with the project.

A new classification creates complications

A major twist in the plot occurred when, only two weeks after the purchase, they were informed that the old church was to become a national monument.

This new designation began a multi-year, multi-million euro excursion through a sea of time-consuming, costly renovation and restoration work.

“We had to remove all of the plaster,” said Deirdre. “We had to then build it back with new plaster, but the new plaster had to be of the 18th century-style. So that meant it had to be a lime plaster with a rough finish.”

Since it can take up to six years for lime plaster to completely dry, a special and very rare silicate paint would be required — and there are only three on the planet.

“One of them happened to be in Ireland!” said Deirdre. “I wanted this warm, buttery yellow, like a glowing ‘wrap itself around you’ feel. The Irish firm had five or six shades of white. So we said no. The next one was in Slovenia. They sent samples that were very yellow. Unfortunately, 48 hours after their paint was tested, it changed color. So we did more research and found a German company called Keim. They do a lot of restoration of historical buildings, particularly with the paints that were used in medieval times, which were very muted colors. That worked perfectly.”

But no sooner had the paint issue been solved then another challenge arose. The old church had long ago lost its spire. So Deirdre turned her attention to its replacement.

“There had been no spire on the church since 1954,” she explained. “It had been struck by lightning, and it became dangerous, so it was taken down.”

Deirdre presented ideas for a new slate, copper or stone spire, but every idea was rejected by city officials.

But, said Pearse, “Deirdre doesn’t compromise. She was going to do something spectacular. She knew what she was doing, and she would not take any shortcuts. It took them a while to realize that this was a woman for whom it wasn’t money; this was a passion.”

Deirdre has a fondness for glass and came up with a concept for a glass spire that could be lighted at night. That idea was rejected.

“I was so frustrated at this point with everything that was rejected that I sought out a meeting with the city officials,” she said. “We shared our drawings, and they found them to be unique and exciting. Since we didn’t hear anything negative, we went ahead and created the spire.”

Deirdre’s vision for the interior called for custom-made stained glass windows decorated with depictions of the brewing, distilling and coopering that had been so characteristic of the Liberties.

“We presented the renders for the stained glass windows, but they were rejected on the premise that it had been a Protestant church, which would not have had stained glass,” she said.

To move forward with the stained glass windows, the Lyonses were invited to prove that they couldn’t be read from the outside of the church. Deirdre took this as a go-ahead to produce one of the windows and install it, since it would be the only way to test it.

“We created the south window first, which explains the brewing process,” said Deirdre. “It took a long time to sketch it and go to the glass company, a little two-person company way up in the north, pick out all the glass and lay the glass the way we wanted — because we wanted to use all of the colors that would be associated with the industry, like gold, amber, copper, some black and some warm browns and yet put them in a way that was very easy to read.”

Photo Credit: Donal Murphy

Once they installed the window, they invited the planners and zoners to come see it.

After opportunity for review, Deirdre decided to proceed to the next window. However, when the concrete blocks were removed, a couple small lattice pieces were discovered. Because the lattice pieces were original, the window could no longer be removed.

“We had to create our window and put it on what I call a ‘goal post frame’ and float it off the window,” said Deirdre.

Photo Credit: Donal Murphy

Classic copper pot stills, custom-made for the distillery by the Vendome Copper & Brass Works in Louisville, Kentucky, were transferred from their County Carlow location to the site. With the attempted move, an entirely new round of frustration gripped the project.

“We were a quarter of an inch shy of getting them through the biggest door,” said Deirdre. “We could take the door off, but we couldn’t remove the arch because we were afraid that the stone would not be able to support itself.”

But, where there’s a will, there’s a way. Workers were in the process of reinforcing and replacing the building’s roof.

“We got everything structurally right and then we left one section of the roof open,” said Deirdre. “We had a crane lift them in.”

Photo Credit: Donal Murphy

A legacy project becomes an ancestral tribute

Excavation to make room for the building’s new mechanical systems yielded yet another surprise. This one, at least, brought with it a most amazing serendipity.

“We soon unearthed bodies that we hadn’t expected at all,” said Deirdre. “In those days, graves were dug very deeply, and bodies were placed on top of bodies.”

An on-site archeologist oversaw a careful process each time a body was discovered. Each one was carefully taken to the National Museum of Ireland – Archaeology, where it was examined, dated and photographed. The bones would then be returned to rest at St. James.

“To accommodate all those bones, we actually had to create crypts under the floor of the church,” said Deirdre. “There were two crypts already in the church, but we had to put in five more.”

Then, there was a startling discovery.

Among those buried in the centuries-old church graveyard was none other than John Hubert Lyons, grandfather of Pearse.

The revelation unlocked something long hidden in the recesses of his memory.

“At age 4, my earliest recollection is of going to a funeral, an Irish wake,” he explained. “I saw this person, and I remember them saying it was my grandfather.”

The year was 1948.

“His parents were on holiday in France and had distributed all of the little ones to various aunts and uncles in the area,” related Deirdre. “So, Pearse and his older brother were taken in a horse-drawn carriage with the hearse. But he never knew that it was a funeral until he grew up. He was too young. It was hushed up. It all flooded back when we realized this. That then made it very important to Pearse.”

This personal commitment would prove critical as myriad obstacles continued to mount. For example, the Lyonses would present 17 renderings of a proposed visitors center before a plan would finally be approved.

Breathing life into the Liberties

Pearse hopes the beautifully restored distillery’s presence and energy breathes new life into the neighborhood.

“When you put a beautiful place up, people tend to step up,” said Pearse. “There are going to be a lot of refurbishments. I hope we’re alive to see it.”

“I have to say that, even though it was probably the most challenging job I’ve ever done, it’s also been the most rewarding,” said Deirdre as she reflected.

“The builders said that they loved working with Deirdre because she never changed her mind. Never,” said Pearse. “She has the vision of what she wants to do. I think this is what makes us a formidable team. It’s telling our story. It’s history.”

Former Iowa Governor and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack recently led a discussion amongst four other past U.S. Secretaries of Ag — Dan Glickman, Ann Veneman, Mike Johanns and Ed Schafer — at the 2017 Iowa Hunger Summit. Their primary objective was to address a less commonly realized but ever-prevalent issue affecting U.S. citizens: food insecurity.

Some may be asking themselves what exactly the term “food insecurity” means. It is defined as being without consistent access to an adequate supply of reasonably priced, healthy food. And, while it may seem almost inconceivable for such a highly developed country to be dealing with an issue like hunger, according to the United States Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service, it’s an unfortunate reality for some 41.2 million Americans living in food-insecure households.

Fortunately, the U.S. has one of the most comprehensive feeding programs in the world, offering the Woman, Infants and Children (WIC) program, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and National School Lunch Program (NSLP).

Yet, programs like SNAP have no restrictions. People may buy whatever unhealthy options they wish to, and often do. So, the question arises: Should we limit participant options? And, while we’ve come a long way from the days of food stamps and the associated stigmas, many feel that restricting offerings would only serve to further reinforce shame felt by program participants.

Domino effect

According to estimates from the 2015 U.S. Census Bureau, the official poverty rate is roughly 13.5 percent, meaning over 43 million Americans are living on an insufficient income. The nation also sits at a record high obesity rate; according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 36.5 percent of U.S. adults are considered grossly overweight. It would seem these two issues go hand in hand with the issue of food insecurity.

People are not only undereducated on nutrition but are often unsure how to prepare food. To put it simply, many people don’t know how to cook anymore. Without this knowledge, most seek quick, convenient and often calorie-dense options.

And we are paying a high price for these correlations:

• Globally, more people are dying of non-communicable diseases (e.g., heart disease and diabetes) than communicable diseases. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), unhealthy diets and lack of physical activity are some of the top reasons for premature death.
• Obesity is one of the biggest drivers of healthcare costs. In fact, the fastest growing part of the U.S. budget is healthcare. The United States spends an estimated $147 to $210 billion annually on costs associated with preventable chronic diseases.

Focus on nutrition, not just hunger

The panel did seem to collectively agree that nutrition education should continue to be a top priority. The Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) was established nearly 50 years ago to help with nutrition and exercise-related behaviors for low-income families, particularly those with small children. SNAP to Health is another example of an effective program aimed at reducing food insecurity and promoting better nutrition for Americans. Additionally, many grocery store chains are now employing dietitians to help consumers make better choices, often at little to no cost.

How agriculture can help

We must continue to be proactive in our efforts to end hunger in this country. Not surprisingly, agriculture will continue to play a critical role. We are making headway with efforts such as the expansion of farmers markets and local food options, more widely available crop insurance and risk management tools, and the establishment of farm-to-school program grants for sourcing local foods. But the hard work can’t stop there. As our population continues to grow and weather patterns shift, we will need to continue to examine new resources, fresh ideas and innovative technologies, all aimed at making food insecurity a thing of the past.

How do you think the future of farming will impact issues like food insecurity? A panel of agribusiness experts recently discussed “Farming the Future” and what it may hold for not only agriculture, but the entire food supply chain.

Watch Farming the Future

Alltech’s new brewery and distillery project rolls toward spring 2018 completion

[PIKEVILLE, Ky.] – Beneath the picturesque backdrop of the storied Appalachian Mountains, progress continues at Alltech’s Dueling Barrels Brewery & Distillery in downtown Pikeville, Kentucky. Marking the latest milestone, Eastern Kentucky native Danny Branham has been appointed general manager, overseeing the region’s first (legal) bourbon, beer and moonshine operation.    

Branham has been with Alltech for nearly eight years, often traveling far from his hometown of Pikeville. At Alltech’s facilities in Tianjin and Beijing, China, Branham was instrumental in streamlining quality and production processes. He also earned his master’s degree in brewing and distilling from Heriot-Watt University in Scotland. Since returning to the U.S., Branham has served as quality manager for Alltech’s beverage division.

“I think what I am most excited about is the opportunity to return home and be involved in a project that will put Pikeville on the map as one of the premier destinations in Kentucky to visit and experience the art of brewing and distilling,” said Branham.

In addition to distilled spirits, Dueling Barrels will offer visitors a taste of rich Appalachian culture as they explore stories of mountain music, family feuds and the resilient immigrants who shaped the region.

Dueling Barrels is the latest endeavour in the continued global expansion of the Alltech Beverage Division. Alltech founders Pearse and Deirdre Lyons feel a special kinship with the mountains, craftsmanship and hardworking people of Appalachia. After immigrating to Kentucky from Ireland, they developed a strong affinity for the region and sought an opportunity to invest in its development. It is their hope that the distillery destination will extend the Kentucky Bourbon Trail^® tour into Eastern Kentucky.

“Dueling Barrels has the potential to bring in lots of visitors to the area and increase revenues for all businesses through tourism,” said Branham.

The next milestone will be the commission and operation of the brewhouse and distillery, slated for January 2018, which will keep Dueling Barrels on track to open in spring 2018.

Advanced education contributes to Alltech’s expertise in yeast fermentation technologies for animal, crop and human health

[LEXINGTON, Ky.] – Specializing in brewing and distilling may sound like a hobby — or even a covert practice — but it is indeed a formal degree, and biotechnology leader Alltech considers master’s degree graduates of the program to be essential to its core business. For that reason, the company is proud to congratulate Kendon Jacobson, Alltech’s 21^st employee to receive a master’s degree in brewing and distilling from Scotland’s Heriot-Watt University, known for graduating some of the foremost brewing and yeast fermentation experts in the world.

According to Becky Timmons, global director of applications research and quality assurance at Alltech, Heriot-Watt’s course offers the most practical advanced education for employees given Alltech’s focus on yeast fermentation technology.

“We are very excited to add Kendon to our growing list of Heriot-Watt graduates,” said Timmons. “Yeast fermentation is fundamental to our core business in animal health and nutrition, and I have found that this unique program provides background on a range of subject matter that is beneficial in our industry.”

Alltech is currently collaborating with Western Kentucky University to offer a similar degree. The program would serve the rising craft beer industry in the U.S. as well as the burgeoning bourbon industry.

Such a partnership is not uncommon for Alltech, a company that considers education to be the foundation of both the present and future. This emphasis is reflected in Alltech’s current work with universities globally to collaborate on research, create further educational opportunities for its employees and provide work experiences to the universities’ current students. 

ONE: The Alltech Ideas Conference (ONE17) in Lexington, Kentucky. With this being my fourth year in attendance, one might believe I’ve become a master at preparing for the event. Quite the opposite. Dr. Pearse Lyons, the mastermind behind Alltech, is intricately involved in all events. His mind is a constant place of creativeness, innovation and disruption. I’ve yet to experience an event that did not bypass my expectations. The best method of preparation is to enter with an open mind.

This year’s event challenged my open mind. It provoked my ideals and basic cognitive thinking. The concept of keeping agriculture real has been at the forefront of my life. In theory, the ideas presented at ONE17 were sound. I couldn’t help but wonder if some were feasible, practical and, well, real.

One such discussion centered around the grocery stores of tomorrow, or lack thereof. It is estimated that grocery stores as we know them today will soon become “daycare for the elderly.” One statistic went as far as to say box stores will be eliminated by 2028. Despite supporting research conducted by the United States Department of Labor through Willard Bishop, LLC., to say there was skepticism on my mind is an understatement. The research showed fewer Americans are buying food at grocery stores, especially younger consumers, leading to grocers becoming obsolete.

In theory, there may be truth in these statements; however, I wasn’t buying it.

Practically versus concept:

1. Observation: I know a handful of decision-makers who have begun ordering groceries online. Regardless, the bulk of our family and friends continue to be drawn to the likes of Walmart or Target.
2. Personal application: Living in a rural area, fresh produce isn’t available for shipping. Online shopping won’t be saving me fuel dollars until this service is offered. When I compare prices of Aldi to Amazon, my best buy is Aldi’s.
3. Technical hindrances: There are both delivery and pickup methods offered by Walmart. In concept, my expectation was a great service. Eventually, they may hit the target. However, from my experience, numerous bugs need to be worked out. After spending hours trying to input my list, I ended up driving 30 minutes to purchase my items in person.
4. Lack of convenience: Shipping and picking up groceries each come with a major shortcoming — today’s society needs an experience that is fast, convenient and easy. Anyone can enter a physical store without a list and walk out with $300 in items. Online ordering requires the time and patience to enter grocery items in an app or other device.

As these thoughts bounced through my mind, the presenter unexpectedly met my skepticism with additional points. I wasn’t yet committed to making a sale; however, I was listening.

Outside of online ordering, I was surprised to learn of the additional types of applications that are currently being applied and tested with real consumers:

1. Amazon Go (unmanned store): Jackpot. No more worrying about ending up in the “talkers” check-out or being stuck in the line that never ends. In contrast, I couldn’t help but wonder if risk management challenges existed. What are the shoplifting rates?
2. Egg vending machines: This portion of the presentation ended with the mention of Asian vending machines for eggs, fruits and perishables, a real-time service that has become as common as phone booths once were. While traveling, I have noted an increase in the variety of vending machines. During a San Francisco Uber ride, my husband and I struck up a conversation with the driver. Our moonlighting Uber driver held a daytime gig designing vending machines for perishable foods. The current project was a concept-phase fresh fruit, smoothie machine.

The older my mind becomes, the greater my stubbornness grows. I left ONE17 with the conclusion that while these concepts of the future sound dreamy, they won’t be practical nor will they replace big box stores.

Ding-dong. Two weeks following ONE17, I realized my conclusion, potentially, had some issues. In early June, Amazon announced its intention to purchase Whole Foods for $13.7 billion...in cash. I was quickly transported to last year during the holiday season. The historic holiday season set precedent, moving more sales transactions online than in the stores. The powerful retailer has the secret to closing big box stores, and it’s called Amazon Prime. It’s estimated that in the U.S., 60 million people are Prime members, and who tends to spend more on Amazon? Those Primers.

The “cha-ching” sound was echoing through my now open mind as I gave in to my stubbornness and acknowledged: big box stores may really become “assisted living” for our elderly, a place for social activity rather than a commerce center.

Stress can affect your body, your thoughts and feelings, and your behavior. Stress causes our cortisol levels to rise. Cortisol can cause food cravings, usually for high carbohydrate or sweet foods. Not only do many people turn to food as a comfort during stressful times, they also tend to consume more highly refined carbohydrates like white pasta, bread, rice, bagels, chips, crackers, baked goods and other sweets. Although these foods may provide quick and immediate comfort, the more of them we eat, the worse our mood gets. High intake of these foods leads to crashes that may increase susceptibility to new stress. After a spike in blood sugar caused by eating a large amount of highly refined carbohydrates, it’s common to experience mental fog, tiredness, anxiety and irritability, all of which may exacerbate existing stress.

Cortisol also activates an enzyme in our fat cells. Visceral fat cells – the fat found around vital organs in our abdomen – have significantly more of these enzymes than subcutaneous fat – the fat just below the skin on other areas of the body like legs and buttocks – which is why stress causes belly fat accumulation. The more stress a person has, the more abdominal obesity can occur, which is linked to a greater risk for heart disease and diabetes.

Luckily, there are other components of food that can help regulate stress by providing specific nutrients or sustained energy.

Better mood foods

DHA omega-3

This essential fatty acid has been studied for its positive effects on mood and protection of our brain against chronic stress. Increasing dietary intake of DHA omega-3 may help prevent the harmful effects of chronic stress and the development of stress-related disorders such as depression and anxiety.

Better Mood Foods: DHA-enriched eggs, meat and milk, salmon, mackerel and sardines

Zinc

Diets low in zinc have been linked to anxiety and depression. A daily intake is required, as our body doesn’t have a zinc storage system.

Better Mood Foods: oysters, beef, crab, lobster, chicken, turkey, beans and nuts

Magnesium

This mineral has been called “the original chill pill” for its role in regulating cortisol levels and its ability to prevent the entrance of stress hormones to the brain.

Better Mood Foods: spinach, whole grains, legumes, potatoes, avocados, nuts and seeds

Vitamin B6

An important function of vitamin B6 is helping to produce serotonin and norephinephrine, both of which positively influence mood.

Better Mood Foods: chickpeas, tuna, salmon, chicken and turkey

Whole grains

Both simple (white bread and pasta, bagels, baked goods, etc.) and complex (whole grain bread and pasta, oatmeal, etc.) carbohydrates are turned into glucose, a type of sugar used as fuel by the body. However, complex carbohydrates contain vitamins, minerals and fiber that slow the release of glucose into the blood stream, providing the body a steady supply of energy, as well as serotonin, a “feel good” chemical.

Better Mood Foods: oatmeal, brown rice, whole grain bread and pasta, quinoa and popcorn

Advanced Agricultural Leadership Program (AALP). In a region where farmland is measured in square feet, fried crickets are a delicacy and roadside markets are more common than supermarkets, we experienced many firsts, and our eyes were opened to the differences in agriculture between Canada and Southeast Asia.

We arrived in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, ironically on the inaugural Canada’s Agriculture Day, and so we shared our #AgMoreThanEver pride from the other side of the world.

Over the next few days, we toured around rural areas, visiting a rubber tree plantation, an agriculture research park where they were growing cabbage, melons and peppers, an earthworm farm and a dairy.

After an eye-opening experience traveling through Vietnam, we flew to Thailand to finish our study tour. We visited the Baan Susan Chamchoen Farm, owned by Mr. Somsak, outside of Bangkok. He toured us through his mixed fruit farm, which he built for agri-tourism, with lodging, a restaurant and a store to purchase many value-added products, including syrups and jams. He grows bananas, coconuts and mangos and raises ducks, chickens and goats. We thanked Mr. Somsak for his hospitality with an Ag More Than Ever t-shirt and a Canadian flag.

Jenn Norrie is the on-farm communications manager for Alltech, based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. You can follow her on Twitter @jennorrie. You can also view posts from the AALP International Study Tour with the hashtag #AALP16.

Food Safety: Red Tractor’s Never-ending Pursuit

Where does your food really come from? From farm to processing plant, from supermarket to plate, it’s important to know that your food was handled in a safe and ethical manner at every step of the journey. This episode takes a look at Red Tractor, one of the most trusted food assurance programs. Alltech’s David Butler recently sat down with food industry leader Philip Wilkinson to better understand how Red Tractor provides peace of mind to the consumer. You can listen to the podcast in full or view the transcript below.

I'm David Butler and my guest today is Philip Wilkinson, Executive Director of Two Sisters Food Group. Actually that's just one of many positions that Philip holds. He took some time to talk to us about food safety, traceability and Red Tractor, the United Kingdom's leading farm and quality food assurance program. Their motto is, "we trace it so you can trust it".

So, I’m Philip Wilkinson, Executive Director of Two Sisters Food Group which is the largest poultry producer for broiler meat in Europe. I’m Vice President of AVEC, which is the European Poultry Association, a board member of the British Poultry Council, and on the Board of Assured Foods Standards in the UK.

That is a lot of hats to wear.

Yeah it is, but they are all interconnected so it works very well.

And a lot of what you do is related to messaging to the end consumer is that correct to say?

Yeah. The Assured Foods Standards brand, or mark, you would know as being a Red Tractor which is underpinned by the Union Jack, the Union flag of the UK. And, that is a mark that has been on the go now since the year 2000 when it was launched. In dollar terms the sales value in 2015 will be in the region of $22-23 billion US. So, it has come from zero to hero in that 15 years and would be the mark that the vast majority of citizens and consumers in the UK would recognize in terms of one of quality, traceability, assurance, and would give them trust.

They would know that that kind of symbolizes everything that’s important to them and their food.

We like to think so. But, it’s a little bit like painting a very large bridge. It’s never ending. You get to the end and you got to start at the beginning again. So it’s an evolutionary process. We didn’t put something in place back in the year 2000 and it stayed exactly the same in 2015. It moves with the times. We tweak it here, we tweak it there in order to keep up with what is considered to be important in the minds of consumers. At the time that this was launched, there was no carbon footprint message going around whereas we now know that is a major part of the sustainability debate. So, we are now looking at being true to that objective and G20 leaders have signed up to that agreement to hit benchmarks by 2020 and there are milestones in that process, so we have bought into that as part of our message and that will fall into our activities going forward across all meat proteins and crops, as well, because the Red Tractor does embrace all meat proteins together with combinable crops, so you know it’s a pretty big operation.

That does seem like a huge operation and it seems like it would be very difficult to create guidelines or best practices across so many different, very diverse industries. How do you do that?

Okay, and that’s a good question. Each sector is a stand-alone. So, each sector has its sector board, it has its own technical advisory committee, and what I need to share with you is that this is not an in-house initiative. This is something that is shared across the whole of the supply chain so that everyone buys into it. So, you’ve got the farming union representing the farmers. You’ve got the likes of the British Poultry Council representing the poultry processors, you’ve then got the British Retail Consortium representing the retailers. Food service representatives and also academics and independents.

And, what we do, is we have a set of standards that are compiled by those people. So they are independent. The technical advisory committees are chaired by independent people. People who have got a wealth of experience in the field but are not directly involved in the supply chain. So they may be university professors who talk about this sort of stuff and I think about ours, is a guy who was a lecturer, very very well respected, at Reading University. He has been the chairman of the technical advisory committee. So that when product, and it always does happen that there will be a food scare, there is always something that is going to happen in the food industry, no matter how hard you try, you can put an independent person to front that, because it gives far more credibility than somebody like me who is an industry person who the consumer would say, “Well, he would say that anyway.” So, it gives it and this technical advisory committee, is meeting on a bi-month basis to review the standards, review the adherence to standards, to then dole out penalties to those who don’t adhere to the standards, so that the standards have integrity. Without the integrity, the consumer wouldn’t trust them and there would be chaos.

Right, so you have input and knowledge and expertise that is coming from the people in the industry that worked in the industry for years and years and they’re contributing that, but you also have independent people on the boards.

Just to show how fair we actually are, we even have on the board of Assured Food Standards, a representative from Compassionate World Farming. It doesn’t get more open than that. These are people who would sometimes march on the Houses of Parliament or march into KFC or into McDonald’s or into Two Sisters Food Group and cry foul. So, this is how open we are and how transparent we are in embracing the thoughts and opinions of everyone before we arrive at a decision.

Wow, that’s pretty impressive. It seems a lot more genuine than, you know, a company that might create their own little kind of premium certified logo that is not backed up by anything in particular.

I think that most companies who do, do that and some decide they’re going to have their own offering underpinned by Red Tractor, but then, let’s say move slightly outside that to create a point of difference for them, they would always use the Red Tractor Assurance to underpin, but then they would also rather than it stay in house, they would also use independent bodies who audit their schemes as well. And, might even help in the compilation of those schemes.

Is there any talk of Red Tractor expanding beyond the United Kingdom?

The Red Tractor Standards are already accepted outside of the United Kingdom because companies such as ours, or some of the retailers, or food service organizations who stand by the Red Tractor mark to the consumer as their offering have product that comes in from other countries. So, even though we produce in the UK, 19 million chickens a week, we actually consume 27 million whole bird equivalents, so those birds come in from Brazil or Thailand or elsewhere in Europe and in order for it to be a level playing field, and in order for the on pack claims to be made, equivalents have to be agreed in those countries. So, if they’re not eligible to carry the Red Tractor and the Union Jack, because obviously the Union Jack is produced in the UK; however, they are audited to those standards in those relevant countries by auditors who have been checked out by the audit bodies and the competent authorities back in the UK. So, the brand doesn’t travel, but the equivalents of it, do and that is the only way we would take product in from those countries outside of the UK.

So that’s having a positive effect on the global food supply really.

Yep, and as I showed in the presentation both yesterday at the food REBELation and at the poultry REBELation, I have shown that other European countries have got their own marks and emblems and logos that are for their countries that may or may not be the same as ours. They may be slightly different, but this is something that has now gone European wide, that’s for sure. And, there’s been a lot of interest as I’ve talked in other countries all over the world either in my own capacity or doing talks for Alltech. There is a massive interest in Red Tractor and the Red Tractor, and I wouldn’t say this but I know that I’m right, the Red Tractor news has traveled globally more than I would say most of the others or any of the others that I’m aware of. The only one that would sort of be internationally recognized would be the RSPCA, the Royal Society for Prevention of Cruelty of Animals which obviously goes pretty global anyway. Particularly the commonwealth countries where there would be a connection anyway.

Right, that makes sense. So how is all of this activity funded?

The Red Tractor is funded through usage of the mark on pack, so it’s fractions and fractions of pennies on a pack.

So a licensing fee?

Yes, a licensing fee which then everyone in that supply chain pays a price for. So just to give you a feel. It won’t be an exact number and I’m going to try to convert to US dollars for you, but for a poultry farm, a broiler farm in the UK to be signed up Red Tractor, it would cost circa $75-$80 a year; well in the big picture that doesn’t really even cover the auditor traveling and coming to the farm to do the audit, but because it’s funded across the whole of the supply chain, and everybody can afford to be in. If you’re a big dairy company, that’s going out on milk bottles that sit on tables, well then that’s easy, but if you are the dairy farmer you have to pay the same sort of money as they have to pay, you would never sign up in the first place. The reason why it’s been so successful is that the farm to fork supply chain has bought into it and are all doing their bit and paying for it.

The cost is shared?

People stand shoulder to shoulder.

Yeah, yeah. It benefits everybody.

Sure it does.

One last question. I assume you don’t have full traceability for everything under Red Tractor yet? Do you? Traceability is so difficult.

Well, I cited this morning in the poultry session that this is an example. We have got a slaughterhouse for chickens close to a 24 hour TESCO store that also stocks our chicken. The Tesco technical team will maybe totally unannounced arrive at their store at 7:30 – 8:00 o’clock in the morning, and they will pick a whole bird off the shelf, they will pick a packet of wings off the shelf, and they will pick some breast meat off the shelf jump in their car, drive two miles up to the road to our factory, knock on the door, technical manager plunk those on his desk and say, “I want traceability, full traceability down the production line back to the breeder farm where the eggs came from and I want you to do that in 4 hours on all of those products” We normally turn it around in somewhere between 2.25 – 2.50 hours. So the answer to your question, yes we can and I can even take it one step further in terms of supply chain for the feed that goes into the birds, whether it be the wheat or the soya I can do all that as well. So, in the poultry sector, I can’t speak on behalf of the other sectors because I’m not as close, but I would imagine it’s pretty much the same there. I sit very very comfortably on traceability.

That’s impressive!

How about that?

That’s a lot of work that goes into that.

But, it’s a great story to tell. You know when you get a TV scare and people are talking about horse meat and stuff like that, we had a minister for Food get on the prime time television BBC news when we had these issues and he said, “Obviously you can’t guarantee it because in the horsemeat scandal there’s a criminal element involved and the law enforcement authorities are dealing with that right now, but when asked the question by the interviewer, much the same as you are now, the interviewer said, “What would you do in a situation like this right now if you were a consumer?” And, the minister said, “look for a Red Tractor on the pack and that’s as safe as it’s gonna get.” So there’s no better endorsement on the BBC News program with ten million plus viewers watching. I’ll tell you that anytime.

Yeah, and you’re not going to have, you know a government Minister going out on a limb very often if that’s not a pretty safe statement.

He’s gotta be pretty cool with what he’s saying, he’s gotta be comfortable with it.

Well, thank you very much Philip.

Pleasure.

I really appreciate it. I hope you’re enjoying your time here.

Always do, I’m delighted to be back here. Always enjoy it.

I want to thank Philip for spending some time with us. You can find out more about Red Tractor at redtractor.org.uk and you can find out more about Two Sisters Food Group at 2sfg.com.

Thanks so much for listening to the AgFuture podcast and thanks to our producer Robbie Gay. If you like the podcast please share it with your friends or give us a rating on iTunes. We'd love to hear from you too. Send your comments or suggestions to AgFuture@alltech.com.