Meet the team: AFS Board

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  David Gregory

  Chairman, AFS

  Appointed AFS Chairman, 1st December 2009. David has a wealth of experience in food production and consumer-facing initiatives having previously worked with Marks & Spencer for over 25 years, most recently as the Director of Technology for the Food Division. In this role David was responsible for maintaining Marks & Spencer's market-leading position for innovation. He also led the establishment of the company's high profile corporate social responsibility and sustainability programmes, which culminated in the adoption of the 'Plan A' concept.
  
  In addition to David’s role with Assured Food Standards, David is a non-executive Director of Boparan Holdings Ltd, the multinational chilled foods business which trades in the UK as 2 Sisters Food Group and Northern Foods. David also holds several key industry positions including membership of the governing body of the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, Governor of the Institute of Food Research, and Vice Chairman of the British Nutrition Foundation.
  
  David was appointed as a visiting professor in the University of Reading, Centre for Food Security in December 2010 David also has an active consultancy business working with Government, UK and multinational brands based on a proven track record of identifying consumer trends, leading businesses and their suppliers through changing attitudes, and delivering successful outcomes in food and sustainability related areas.

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  Meurig Raymond

  Vice Chairman, AFS

  Meurig Raymond farms 3,100 acres in Pembrokeshire in partnership with his twin brother. The farm grows 1,900 acres of combinable crops and 280 of acres of potatoes. There are 600 dairy cows, with 300 followers. The farm also has 600 head of beef cattle and around 2,500 store lambs, fattened during winter.

  Meurig, 55, was elected local branch Chairman of the NFU in 1979 and Pembrokeshire County Chairman in 1989. In 1992 he became the Welsh NFU Treasurer and served as the Pembrokeshire delegate on NFU Council between 1995 and 2004. He served as Vice-Chairman of the NFU's Cereals Committee between 1999 and 2001 and on the Agricultural Wages Board for six years from 1998. He was elected as Vice President of the NFU in 2004 and became Deputy President in 2006.

  Meurig represented Wales on the Home Grown Cereals Authority between 1997 and 2004 and served on the council of Food from Britain between 1997and 2003. He became a Fellow of the Royal Agricultural Society in 2000 and was awarded an MBE in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours in January 2005 for his services to agriculture.

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  Phillip Richardson

  Chairman, Red Tractor Assurance for Farms - Pigs Scheme

  Following a farm management degree at Reading, Philip joined the family farming partnership in Norfolk in 1969. The partnership continued until 2000, when its arable farming interests were passed to the next generation. Philip retained the pig enterprise until 2008, when he retired from active farming. He then took a Masters degree at the University of East Anglia in International Development and Climate Change. He is currently involved with the Centre for Comparative Agriculture linking the University with the Norwich Science Park, Eason College and other partners to provide higher level agricultural courses in East Anglia.

  Philip has been associated with BPA, NFU pigs and NPA producer committees for 30 years. He was a member of the Meat and Livestock Commission (MLC) Pork and Bacon Promotion Council, the MLC Research Steering Committee and the MLC Pig Strategy Council (the predecessor to BPEX). He chaired the technical committee that led to the first English assurance scheme and has been associated with assurance, either on technical committees or as a board member, ever since. He was given the David Black Award for service to the pig industry in 2006.

  He chairs the Eastern Regional Pig Health Scheme on behalf of BPEX. Philip retired in 2005 as Chairman of TAG, the largest independent arable research group in the country. TAG has since merged with NIAB but its research work is still heavily supported by funding from the Morley Agricultural Foundation on which Philip is a trustee. He is also a trustee of three other agricultural charities and is a member of the steering group of AFCP, which seeks to maximise the value of charitable funds for education and research to the industry through improved coordination and representation.

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  John Thorely OBE

  Chairman, Red Tractor Assurance for Farms - Beef and Lamb Scheme

  Appointed RTA Beef and Lamb Sector Chairman December 2009. In 1968 John joined the National Sheep Association (NSA). From 1976-1985 he was also Secretary of the National Cattle Breeders Association and for two years he was additionally General Manager of British Semen Export Company. John’s enthusiasm for farming and his outstanding services to the sheep industry have been reflected in his array of awards. In 1988 the NSA presented him with the George Hedley Memorial award, two years later he received the Giovanni Marcora prize by the Italian Government for services to the European sheep industry.

  In 2002 he was awarded the Royal Smithfield Club bi-centenary Award and in 2006 he received his O.B.E for services to sheep farming. In addition to this, during 2006, the Royal Agricultural Society of England awarded him their National Agricultural Award. He is also a holder of The Farmers Union of Wales Gold Medal for services to Welsh sheep farming and has honorary membership of several agricultural organisations. Professor Mark Tatchell Chairman, Red Tractor Assurance for Farms - Fresh Produce Scheme Professor Mark Tatchell is the Independent Chairman of the RTA Fresh Produce Scheme.

  His career has been devoted to horticulture and agriculture, initially as a research entomologist and more recently as a senior research manager. He has worked at Horticulture Research International (now part of the School of Life Sciences, University of Warwick) and Rothamsted Research developing and implementing the science behind integrated crop management programmes.

  Mark has been an independent consultant since 2004 to science-based organisations. Customers have included Defra, FERA, Royal Horticultural Society, Horticultural Development Council, Research Councils, Rothamsted Research and the Scottish Government. His broad expertise in biology and ecology is used in the review and direction of research programmes and in interpreting broad scientific issues to wider audiences. Mark is an Honorary Professor in the School of Life Sciences at the University of Warwick.

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  Professor Mark Tatchell

  Chairman, Red Tractor Assurance for Farms - Fresh Produce Scheme

  Professor Mark Tatchell is the Independent Chairman of the RTA Fresh Produce Scheme. His career has been devoted to horticulture and agriculture, initially as a research entomologist and more recently as a senior research manager. He has worked at Horticulture Research International (now part of the School of Life Sciences, University of Warwick) and Rothamsted Research developing and implementing the science behind integrated crop management programmes.

  Mark has been an independent consultant since 2004 to science-based organisations. Customers have included Defra, FERA, Royal Horticultural Society, Horticultural Development Council, Research Councils, Rothamsted Research and the Scottish Government. His broad expertise in biology and ecology is used in the review and direction of research programmes and in interpreting broad scientific issues to wider audiences. Mark is an Honorary Professor in the School of Life Sciences at the University of Warwick.

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  Ted Wright

  Chairman, Red Tractor Assurance for Farms - Poultry Scheme

  Ted Wright joined the board as the Chairman of the RTA Poultry Scheme in 2010, bringing with him 45 years of expertise and knowledge within the poultry industry. As former Chairman of the British Poultry Council for six years, Ted has a valuable understanding and knowledge in handling UK Poultry issues, including legislation up to Ministerial level and representing the industry on both European and World level with AVEC and the International Poultry Council.

  Ted Wright has previously worked with turkey industry giants, Bernard Matthews Ltd. Joining the business in 1965; he became Production Director in 1982 and in 1990 worked closely on the company’s oversee expansion, initially in South Africa and New Zealand before going to the Bernard Matthews subsidiary Saga Foods of Hungary in 1996 where he was Managing Director from 1998 to 2004. His extensive credentials and knowledge within the poultry industry will serve as valuable qualities in managing the Red Tractor Farm Assurance Poultry Sector.

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  Matthew Read

  Chairman, Red Tractor Assurance for Farms - Crops & Sugar Beet Scheme

  After leaving the Royal Agricultural College in 1989 Matthew Read joined the family farming business. Matthew, 43, now farms 3200 acres on the Hampshire/Wiltshire border partly on his family owned farm, as a Tenant and as a Contract farmer. The farms grow a range of combinable crops, including wheat, spring barley, oilseed rape and linseed. Matthew was elected Chairman of the Red Tractor Crops & Sugar Beet Board in 2008, having sat on the board for the past three years.

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  Richard Davis

  Farming

  Richard Davis farms 125 hectares in North Bedfordshire. He has 120 pedigree Holstein Friesian cows and 70 head of youngstock. The farm runs alongside the Great Ouse River and produces good crops of maize as well as winter wheat and grass. Richard represents the farming unions as a non-executive director of Assured Food Standards Ltd. Richard is a member of the NFU National Dairy Board, representing East Anglia.

  Richard is also a Farmer Director of First Milk and DairyCo and a lay Council member of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons. Stuart Roberts Meat Processing Stuart graduated with a degree in Agriculture and Business from Aberystwyth University in 1997. Stuart then spent eight years as a Civil Servant working for the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, the Food Standards Agency and the Department of Environment Food and Rural Affairs.

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  Stuart Roberts

  Meat Processing

  After leaving the civil service, Stuart managed the British Meat Processors Association (BMPA) where he was involved in many industry challenges including the 2007 Foot and Mouth outbreak and the appearance of Bluetongue in the UK. Stuart is currently Agriculture and Livestock director for Anglo Beef Processors. Stuart has responsibility for all aspect of agriculture and livestock policy for the company.

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  Philip J Wilkinson OBE

  Poultry Processing

  After studying agriculture at Askham Bryan, Philip chose the dairy industry for his career. Starting as a management trainee at the Milk Marketing Board of England and Wales, he progressed through a range of senior roles within the industry, culminating in that of commercial director of Arla Foods plc. In parallel with this career, he studied Agribusiness at Harvard Business School. During his career Philip held several industry positions including chairmanship of the Dairy Council and National Dairy Farm Assured Ltd.

  He was awarded an OBE for services to the dairy industry in 2003. Upon leaving the dairy sector, Philip became managing director of Grampian Country Food Group’s integrated chicken business and more recently joined 2 Sisters Food Group, a privately owned chicken business supplying a range of products across all industry sectors. He is a director of Assured Chicken Produce and the British Poultry Council.

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  John Cross

  Chairman of the EBLEX Board and EBLEX Beef and Better Returns Steering Committee

  A fifth generation farmer, John farms a mixed livestock and arable enterprise in Norfolk. He previously served on the National Farmers’ Union Livestock Committee for seven years and is a former Chairman of both the Lamb Promotion Council and the merged Beef and Lamb Promotion Council. John sits on the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board, and is Chairman of the EBLEX Board. He also chairs the EBLEX Beef Betters Returns Programme Steering Committee.

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  Diane McCrea

  Consumer Representative

  Diane McCrea was appointed to the Board of Assured Food Standards in 2007 to represent the consumer sector. Diane was brought up in South Wales and studied at Cardiff University before moving to London for postgraduate work in nutrition. The early part of her career was spent in education, research and management. Latterly at Middlesex University she was programme head for science and technology policy, before moving to the Consumers’ Association (now Which?) where she spent five years as Head of Food and Health Research.

  For over fifteen years she has been an independent consultant on consumer policy matters, working on food and consumer representation projects, in the UK, Europe and internationally. These have included the European Commission, the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation and the World Health Organisation. Her particular food interests are in consumer information, food labelling, quality schemes and consumer input to regulatory affairs.

  Diane has been an independent commissioner of the Meat and Livestock Commission. She has been a member of several government committees including the Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee and the Food Standards Agency’s research, and animal feeding stuffs committees. She was a member of the governing body of the Institute of Food Research in Norwich. She has been on the advisory board of several EU-funded research projects and managed the Consensus Workshops project for BEUC - the European Consumers’ Association.

  She has published extensively on consumer policy and co-edited two handbooks on organic food standards and marketing. She also chairs the Soil Association Certification Ltd’s Certification Scrutiny Committee. Having returned to Wales to live in Cardiff Bay, Diane has been a member of the Board of the Consumer Council for Water and Chairs its Wales Committee since it was set up in 2005: this is the statutory consumer body representing the interests of consumers and customer for water and sewerage matters.

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  Les Firbank

  Agriculture and Environment

  Les Firbank is an ecologist who specialises in researching the relationships between farming and the environment. He joined the Assured Food Standards board as an independent Non-Executive Director in 2011 and brings with him extensive knowledge and expertise to the development of Red Tractor’s agricultural and environmental standards. Les’ field of interest was ignited by his childhood on a small family farm in Yorkshire. He trained as an entomologist at Imperial College, London and completed a PhD on competition between arable weeds and crops.

  In 1991 he joined what later became the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, where he led large-scale projects looking at set-aside, agri-environment schemes and organic farming. He led the UK Farm Scale Evaluations of GM crops, which is the largest and most controversial ecological experiment yet undertaken. Les also led the Countryside Survey UK that details the rural environment every few years. After a few years heading North Wyke Research in Devon, he is now based at the University of Leeds, and has set up his own consultancy.

  Les has been involved in agricultural and environmental policy for many years. He is currently a member of ACRE, the Government body that regulates the introduction of GM crops; the management committee of the Sustainable Livestock LINK research programme; the Defra Demonstration Test Catchment Research Advisory Group and has just completed leading the report on the ecological condition of enclosed farmland for the UK National Ecosystem Assessment.

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  Malcom Taylor

  Regulatory Bodies

  Malcolm Taylor joined the Board in 2007 as an independent non executive director, to represent local authority regulatory services and providing a link with Local Government Regulation (formerly LACORS). He has over 36 years experience in regulatory matters, much of it specialising in food, metrology and agriculture, having qualified as a trading standards officer in 1974.

  Malcolm is currently Operations Manager with Cambridgeshire County Council Trading Standards Service having a portfolio of teams covering animal health and agriculture, first response, investigations and a financial investigations unit. For a change in outlook he also chairs the Safety Advisory Groups at all sports grounds in the county on behalf of the county council. He is a member of the Trading Standards Institute and the Chartered Management Institute.

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  Peter Jinman OBE

  Animal Welfare

  Peter Jinman OBE joined the Assured Food Standards board as Independent Director of Animal Welfare in 2010. Peter has 34 years of experience as a veterinary surgeon as well as expertise dealing with animal welfare and ethical issues, which are fundamental in delivering qualified and consistent Red Tractor standards on animal welfare. Peter is Senior Vice President of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons and chairs the College’s accredited practice programme, the Practice Standards Scheme (PSS).

  Peter was awarded an OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list of 2004 for services to the veterinary profession. Peter has also been President of the British Veterinary Association and chaired the Ethics and Welfare Group. He was also a member of the core stake holder group, who were responsible under the previous government for the writing of the Animal Health and Welfare Strategy for Great Britain.