The National Farmers’ Union (NFU) has announced that it has appointed consultants Campbell Tickell to complete the independent review into the governance of Red Tractor.

A multi-disciplinary management consultancy, specialising in governance, Campbell Tickell advises charitable, not-for-profit and public sector organisations.

NFU said the review will establish Red Tractor’s decision-making procedures and its transparency; examine who is consulted by Red Tractor in its development of standards and look at the balance of this feedback, and how Red Tractor engages with stakeholders. Having examined the effectiveness of these processes, it will identify any obstacles which need addressing.

Through interviews and survey work, the review team will speak to a cross-section of those involved across the Red Tractor process, including farmer representatives, to determine how those processes work currently.

In late January, the emerging findings of that review will be presented to NFU Council and the Red Tractor Ownership Body which has agreed to own the findings of the review and also approved the terms of reference. The final report should be made available in mid-February.

This follows industry reaction to the announcement of Red Tractor’s Greener Farms Commitment (GFC), which saw Red Tractor chair Christine Tacon respond to concerns in an open letter as the implementation of the GFC was halted.