Dairy Australia chair Jeff Odgers's son was killed in a farm accident on Friday.
DA board director South Australian dairy farmer James Mann has been appointed acting chair of DA.
This follows the decision by Mr Odgers to take a temporary leave of absence after the tragic loss of his 23-year-old son Jonathan in the accident when a silo collapsed on their Mooroopna, Vic, farm.
Mr Mann has been involved in the Australian dairy industry for more than 25 years and was appointed to the board of Dairy Australia in November 2015.
He previously served as chair of the DairySA Regional Development Program from 2002 to 2015.