Red Tractor has appointed Alistair Mackintosh as its new interim chairman after Christine Tacon resigned from the role.
Mr Mackintosh, who is presently vice-chairman of the farm assurance scheme membership, will become chairman until January 2025.
The six owners of Red Tractor – AHDB, the NFU, NFU Scotland, the Ulster Farmers Union, Dairy UK, the British Retail Consortium - made the announcement.
A statement by the groups said that Mr Mackintosh will start in the post on 1 July 2024, the agreed date Ms Tacon will step down.
“He will continue in post until at least January 2025 by which time the interim findings of the independent review into farm assurance should be known," they said.
Red Tractor chairwoman Christine Tacon announced last month that she was stepping down from the role following her appointment to the Co-op board.
Ms Tacon was appointed chairwoman of Assured Food Standards, which oversees the Red Tractor assurance scheme, in 2021.
Before this, she was the Groceries Code Adjudicator (GCA), and from 2000 to 2012, she oversaw the Co-operative Group’s farming operations.
The groups' statement continued: “We would like to thank Christine for her work as Chair of Red Tractor. Her diligence and strong leadership has helped steer the organisation through an extremely challenging period for food and farming.
“As the longstanding vice-chair of Red Tractor, we believe that Alistair can build on the strong foundations left by Christine, provide stability for the organisation and face into the concerns of Red Tractor members.
“We will begin the process of recruiting a new permanent chair of Red Tractor this autumn.”
Alistair Macintosh said he was 'honoured' to be asked to act as interim chair, adding "Christine has made a huge contribution to Red Tractor and I look forward to continuing her work."
“As a farmer, I’ve seen the huge benefits that Red Tractor has delivered since its establishment in 2000," he said.
"I’m totally committed to rebuilding farmers’ trust in Red Tractor, fully engaging with the review into farm assurance and working to demonstrate the value that Red Tractor brings to farmers like myself.”
