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Our governance
in detail

Ownership Body

Composition: There are six owners – Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB), The National Farmers Union (NFU), NFU Scotland, The Ulster Farmers Union (UFU), Dairy UK, the British Retail Consortium (BRC).

There is also one observer, the Food and Drink Federation, which sits as an observer at the meetings, bringing the insights from the branded food manufacturers.

Roles and responsibilities: The Ownership Body provides the guarantee, appoints the Chair and Directors and, where necessary, the Owners can amend the Company’s Articles of Association.

It is required to meet once a year for an AGM. In practice, the Owners typically meet twice a year and delegate all responsibility for the management of Red Tractor to the Board of Directors, who may exercise all the powers of the Company.

The Red Tractor Board of Directors

The Board’s Roles and Responsibilities:

The Board brings insights and experience across the supply chain to inform and develop the organisation’s Vision, Purpose, Business Plan, Strategies and Objectives:

  • Governance oversight – ensuring Red Tractor operates according to its governing documents, legal requirements, and governance best practices.
  • Strategic planning – contributing to the development and implementation of strategic plans aligned with the organisation’s mission and goals.
  • Financial stewardship – overseeing financial management, budget approval, financial reporting, and risk management.
  • Risk management identifying and mitigating risks that could impact operations, reputation or stakeholders.
  • Stakeholder engagement – engaging with members, partners, regulators and the public to promote transparency and accountability.
  • Implementation The Board of Directors delegate responsibility for implementing the business plan to the permanent staff of Red Tractor, who are led by the CEO.

The Directors

The Board is made up of 19 Directors, representing the full spectrum of food and farming in the UK. Click below to find out more.

Alistair Mackintosh (interim): Alistair has a flock of 1,500 breeding ewes and a herd of 100 beef sucklers across 650 rented acres in Ravenglass, Cumbria. He is a strong supporter of Red Tractor and believes that a robust assurance scheme will give consumers confidence to buy British.

This is something he believes will become increasingly important for UK farming. He says farmers, stakeholders and trade associations must now work together to re-establish the core values of what the tractor stands for. Alistair believes this will ensure farmers don’t view farm assurance as a regulatory burden and instead see what it does for their businesses.

Beef & Lamb : John Dracup – John joined our board in March 2022. He has more than 30 years of experience as an advocate and leader in British agriculture and the food processing industry. In addition to running a successful beef and lamb family farming business in Devon, he has experience in pioneering electronic auctions and managing one of the largest beef and lamb processors’ livestock divisions and continues to hold the position of strategy director for The Royal Smithfield Club.

Dairy : Tim Lock Tim joins Red Tractor with extensive experience in the dairy industry having previously held roles with the NFU National Dairy Board and has chaired the Chichester Branch of the NFU. He ran a mixed family farming business in West-Sussex and brings a wealth of experience and understanding of the whole dairy sector to the role. Tim has also served as the chair of the M&S National Milk Pool.

Crops & Sugar Beet : Kit Papworth – Kit is a Norfolk-based, award-winning farmer and conservationist growing feed and seed wheat, malting barley, sugar beet, oilseed rape, vining peas and potatoes. He has held a number of chair and board roles within the agri-food sector, including Anglia Farmers (Now AF), AF Logic, Pensthorpe and the NFU Sugar Board.

Pigs : Stewart Houston – Stewart has served as a non-exec member of the Food Standards Agency Board. He was also chair of the British Pig Executive and a member of the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board. In addition, he has been on the Scottish Agriculture College board and was Executive Director of the National Pig Association. He is today a non-exec member of Defra’s Animal Health and Welfare Board, England which advises ministers on policy. It is currently developing an Animal Health and Welfare Pathway.

Poultry : Iain Gardner – After graduating from Edinburgh, Iain worked in the pig industry for five years before joining BOCM PAULS. He rose through the ranks and was part of the management buyout and later sale of the business to ForFarmers. For the past 17 years, he has worked at Executive or Group Board level. After 30 years of working closely across the agricultural industry, he left his role as Chief Operating Officer in December 2017. In 2018, he became Chair of the BOCM PAULS defined benefit pension scheme. Iain is also Chairman of the AF Group and Chair of the Notcutts defined benefit pension scheme.

Fresh Produce : Lucy MacLennan – Lucy has worked across the food industry, agriculture and fresh produce sector for over 25 years. She has helped improve the quality and safety of fresh produce for leading UK retailers like Marks and Spencer and Sainsbury’s. She has also worked extensively throughout their supply bases. Lucy is current Chief Executive Officer for the Organic Research Centre. She is a Nuffield Scholar and has an MBA from Cranfield University, Postgraduate Diploma in Sustainable Agriculture from Nottingham University and a BSc (Hons) in Nutrition and Food Science from the University of Surrey. She is also undertaking research into the future of farm assurance and audit requirements.

Farm Unions : David Exwood – David is the NFU Deputy President. David farms south of Horsham in West Sussex with his wife and two sons over 1200 tenanted hectares in the heart of the Sussex Weald. Starting in 1989 with 70ha the business now has arable, dairy beef, Sussex suckler herd and sheep enterprises. In 2003 the Farm Shop opened and sells a wide range of food from the Victorian stable yard at Westons. David has served previously within the NFU as Branch Chair, West Sussex Council Delegate, South East Regional Chair as well as four years on Governance Board. David was elected to the position of NFU Deputy President in February 2024.

AHDB : Will Jackson – Will is AHDB’s Divisional Director for Engagement and Strategy. Will grew up on a dairy farm in Derbyshire. Prior to joining AHDB Beef & Lamb, he was Senior Agricultural Manager at Co-op, where he had responsibility for the beef, lamb and poultry accounts, along with experience of working on a day to day basis with farmers and retailers in the agriculture team at Arla Foods.

British Meat Processing Association : Dean Holroyd – Dean has spent over 35 years working within the Food manufacturing sector across various categories. For the past 10 years this has focussed on the Red Meat sector as ABP Food Group Technical and Sustainability Director working across all of the ABP divisions and geograhies. This role also encompasses elements of ABP’s agricultural activities including its UK Farm activities. Dean also fulfils a number of industry wide posts as a director of the Food Industry Intelligence Network and co chairs the IGD’s Technical Directors Forum.

British Retail Consortium : Sophie Throup – Sophie represents the BRC and joined our board in June 2020. She has been with Wm Morrison plc since November 2017 and heads up Agriculture, Fisheries and Sustainable Sourcing. Sophie started at ASDA before taking time out on the family farm to have children. She joined Bishopton Veterinary Group in 2009. There she developed and managed RAFT Solutions Ltd with her colleagues which delivers livestock research and training. She also helped set up the government funded agri-tech centre, CIEL (Centre of Innovation Excellence in Livestock). Sophie is part of the steering committee for the IGD generated FIIA (Food Industry Initiative for Antimicrobials).

British Poultry Council : Vacant

Vet : James Russell – James is a recognised leader of the veterinary profession, having held several roles within the British Veterinary Association and serving on the Animal Health and Welfare Board for England and appointed as an Assistant Clinical Professor for the University of Nottingham. For decades, he has worked closely with Red Tractor food producers, and has been recognised for his contribution in the commitment to the fight to eradicate Bovine Viral Diarrhoea and Bovine Tuberculosis.

Consumer : John Pain – John joined our board in January 2020. He has a degree in Agricultural Economics from Newcastle University and an MBA from the University of Leicester. John has worked with leading UK brands like Sainsbury’s, Nabisco, and Diageo, and joined KFC GB in 1994. He later became Marketing Director for Yum! and VP of Marketing at Taco Bell USA. In 2007, John returned to the UK as Marketing Director of the Compass Group UK & Ireland business. He later became MD for the Wendy’s Company APEMEA region. John is Vice Chairman of KFC Philippines and Chair of Governing Council at the Royal Agricultural University.

Finance : Chris Goodwin – Chris is a Chartered Certified Accountant and joined our board in December 2016. He has held senior roles as a CFO and CEO in several industry sectors. Most recently, he was CFO of the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board, and previously CEO of the NFU’s commercial subsidiary. He now works as a non-executive director and business adviser for various organisations across the public and private sectors.

Science : Guy Poppy – Professor Guy Poppy became the FSA’s Chief Scientific Adviser in 2014, he is also Professor of Food Security at Southampton University and a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences. He has research experience in food systems and food security and has advised governments globally on these issues. He has also published over 100 peer-reviewed papers including around risk assessment, risk analysis and risk communication. Guy is on the Research Excellence Framework (REF2021) panel assessing the quality of agriculture, food and veterinary science in the UK. In June 2020, he became Programme Director for the SPF Food systems programme. In July 2022 he became Deputy Executive Chair of the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC). He is a graduate of Imperial College and Oxford University.

Jim Moseley: Jim has spent his whole career in the Food & Drink Industry and since 2017 has been the Chief Executive of Red Tractor. He held senior positions with FMC (Meat) Ltd and Wander Foods before being appointed Sales & Marketing Director at Tulip International, where he spent 14 years. He was then appointed Managing Director of General Mills for the UK, Ireland and Nordic region, managing a substantial portfolio of world-leading food businesses including Häagen-Dazs, Old El Paso and Nature Valley. Jim has also served as Chairman of The Provision Trade Federation, the President of the Food & Drink Federation, is a member of the Trade & Agriculture Commission and assists with the Food Drink Export Council.

The Board’s subcommittees

The Board receives guidance from a range of corporate and technical subcommittees to ensure its decisions are meaningful, proportionate, and aligned with Red Tractor’s vision and purpose.

Standards Committee:

  • Frequency of meetings: 6 a year
    Attendance: Alistair Mackintosh (Chair), All Sector Chairs, Guy Poppy, John Pain, James Russell, Red Tractor Permanent Staff
    Role: Reviews overall technical strategy & delivery, particularly for cross-sector issues.

Sector Boards:

  • Frequency of meetings: 3 a year
    Attendance: Sector Chair, TAC Chair, representatives from the food chain, Red Tractor technical managers
    Role: Determines the technical strategy for the sector that contributes to the Vision & Purpose

Technical Advisory Committees:

  • Frequency of meetings: ad hoc
    Attendance: TAC Chair, representatives from farmers and agricultural organisations
    Role: Advise on the technical aspects of proposed standards

Remuneration:

  • Frequency of meetings: once a year
    Attendance: Alistair Mackintosh (Interim Chair), Sophie Throup, Iain Gardner, Chris Goodwin. By invite: Head of Finance
    Role: To consider remuneration of CEO & Directors (except Chairman which reverts to Ownership Body)

Nominations:

  • Frequency of meetings: ad hoc
    Attendance: Alistair Mackintosh (Interim Chair), Tim Lock, Sophie Throup. By Invite: CEO
    Role: Oversight of appointments – Sector Boards membership, Industry and Independent Directors, VC and CEO

Audit & Finance:

  • Frequency of meetings: minimum 2 a year
    Attendance: Chris Goodwin (Chair), Dean Holroyd, Lucy MacLennan, AFS Chair, CEO and Head of Finance
    Role: Strategic oversight of income & expenditure, minimum reserves, internal accounting, future finance, facilities and risk register

Senior Leadership Team

Our team is passionate about the industry and bring a wealth of knowledge and experience across the food chain. Some members have been involved in farm assurance since its start in the 1990s.

Jim Moseley – Chief Executive

As CEO, Jim oversees Assured Food Standards and manages the team. He has a keen interest in working with regulatory and enforcement bodies.

Philippa Wiltshire – Head of Operations

Philippa handles industry, regulatory and stakeholder liaison around technical assurance and manages the six sector boards. She also oversees our IT strategy. This helps ensure Red Tractor Assurance data and electronic services meet the needs of RTA, members, and the wider industry.

Richard Cattell – Head of Marketing and Commercial

Richard manages the consumer marketing strategy to raise awareness and understanding of Red Tractor. He also oversees our commercial trade development. This aims to increase the number of licensees using the Red Tractor logo on products.

Chris Ashford – Head of Finance & IT

Chris provides financial guidance and leadership to support the development and delivery of our strategic plans. He is responsible for managing risk, ensuring sound financial management, delivery of our IT strategy and systems as well as liaising with external stakeholders including auditors, bankers, statutory authorities and partner organisations.

Click to read Red Tractor Governance Handbook
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