Governance

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 : Julian Sturdy – Julian has over three decades of hands-on experience as an arable farmer, managing a 750-acre enterprise in North Yorkshire. He has also had a distinguished parliamentary career representing rural communities and championing British agriculture. As a grower of combinable crops and sugar beet himself, Julian has a deep understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing the sector.

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.

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 : David Neilsen

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.

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.