Release of ASC Farm Standard V1.0.1A

On 1 July 2026, ASC announced two important updates relating to the transition to the ASC Farm Standard:

• Extension of the mandatory date from 1 May 2027 to 1 May 2028.
• Release of ASC Farm Standard V1.0.1A, an interim version of the standard that has a number of indicators and sections of the appendices marked as ‘not in use’. See what's changed here.

Note: The changes for ASC Farm Standard V1.0.1A will be reflected in the Digital Audit Tool.

Key Messages

ASC-certified farms:

• Farms currently certified against ASC Species Standards now have until 1 May 2028 to transition - the ASC Farm standard becomes mandatory from this date and all audits starting on or after this date shall be conducted against the ASC Farm Standard.
• ASC Farm Standard V1.0.1A became effective on 1 July 2026 and this version will be used for any ASC Farm Standard audits starting on or after this date.
• A full revised version, ASC Farm Standard V1.1, will be released on 1 November 2026 and becomes effective on 1 February 2027 and can be used for audits starting on or after this date.

New farms entering the ASC programme:

• We recommend that you apply for certification against the ASC Farm Standard (V1.0.1A from 1 July 2026). However, during the extended transition period, you may continue to apply for certification against the applicable ASC Species Standard.
• New applicant farms with an initial audit starting on or after 1 May 2028 shall be audited against the ASC Farm Standard.

Use of ASC Farm and Feed CAR for Species Standard audits:

• The mandatory date for the ASC Farm and Feed CAR v1.0 will remain 1 May 2027. This will apply to ALL ASC audits starting on or after this date, including audits against the ASC Species Standards.
• This decision was made to remove complexity for CABs in operating two sets of certification requirements. This is aligned with a request from the CAB community in the 2025 Tripartite meeting. Details on accreditation of scope extensions and auditor competencies will be shared shortly.

Key Dates

• 1 July 2026 – ASC Farm Standard V1.0.1A released and effective date.
• 1 November 2026 – ASC Farm Standard V1.1 release date.
• 1 February 2027 – ASC Farm Standard V1.1 effective date; V1.0.1A inactive, this version cannot be used for any audits starting on or after this date.
• 1 May 2027 – ASC Farm and Feed CAR V1.0 mandatory date; all audits – Farm and Species Standards.
• 1 May 2028 – ASC Farm Standard V1.1 mandatory date, all audits starting on or after this date shall be conducted against this version; ASC Species Standards inactive.

ASC will host a call to discuss CAB’s questions in the coming weeks.