The British Limousin Cattle Society is delighted to announce the appointment of Paul Rainey as its new CEO.

Owner of the Claragh pedigree herd in Co. Derry, Northern Ireland, Mr Rainey brings a wealth of business and breeding experience to the organisation.

Society chairman, Dyfan James says Mr Rainey is an outstanding addition to the society’s leadership.

“Paul’s financial background as a chartered accountant and experience managing his family business, J Rainey Bookmakers, combined with his Limousin knowledge will really help push the breed forward,” he explains.

Having recently completed the sale of his business; Mr Rainey is eager for the new challenge with a clear vision for the immense potential of the breed and exciting projects on the horizon.

“I’m extremely honoured to be taking up the role of CEO of the British Limousin Cattle Society – the breed has always been a passion of mine,” says Mr Rainey.

“As a Limousin breeder for nearly 20 years, I recognise the challenges we face in today’s market, however, I believe there are many exciting opportunities ahead and we must embrace the journey ahead together.

“With suckler cow numbers falling across the industry, it’s important we maintain Limousin registration numbers as high as we can.”

He highlights the breed’s standout qualities, explaining AHDB findings have shown Limousins achieve faster finishing than other continental and native breeds, and the ICBF’s methane ‘Green Breed’ research project found Limousin dominates the genomic methane breeding value rankings.

“There’s hard data to show Limousins lead the industry as a very ‘green’ breed with very strong feed efficient genetics,” says Mr Rainey.

“These sustainability benefits come with no compromise on performance in terms of daily live weight gain, carcass weights, kill out rates or fleshing ability.”

A familiar face to many members, Mr Rainey has judged hundreds of pedigree Limousins in show rings around the country, from the Yorkshire Show to the Carlisle Sale Show in recent years.

“I’ve got to know a lot of Limousin breeders across the UK over the past two decades, and I believe that will stand me in good stead to continue strengthening member communications at a grassroots level,” he says.

"My goal is to create a strong, stable society with a united team, all working together to support the best interests of our members – without whom we wouldn’t have a society.”

Mr Rainey, who commences the position on 1 March 2025, explains one of the society’s priorities in 2025 is to roll out a new online herdbook system, Taurus.

“Significant work has gone into developing the Taurus platform, which will be extremely beneficial to members – integrating with BCMS, ScotEID and Aphis to provide greater accuracy, more detailed records and faster processing,” he says.

The society looks forward to working alongside Mr Rainey to ensure the Limousin breed remains at the forefront of UK beef production.