New chief executive of the British Limousin Cattle Society is Alice Swift, who boasts 16 years collective experience working for Tesco, Sainsbury's and most recently as director of agriculture at Arla Foods.

Brought up on a hill farm in Northumberland, Alice graduated from Harper Adams in 2005 with a Bsc (HONS) in Agri Food Production and Marketing and now lives in Warwickshire with her husband Matthew and their two children, William (7) and Elizabeth (3).

She believes her previous work in the food industry provides valuable experience and insight into how the beef and dairy industries operate and going forward, Alice hopes to bring farmers and retailers closer together in a bid to build consumer trust and confidence in British beef and milk.

Her greatest achievements to date include the creation of integrated supply chains that have brought farmers and retailers closer together; namely the Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Aberdeen Angus range (known as Gamechanger Beef), Sainsbury’s Dairy Development Group and the Arla Foods 360 Sustainability programme that Aldi, Morrisons and Starbucks source their milk through. All of these farm to retail initiatives have resulted in an increased return to farmers and driven demonstrable improvements to animal welfare, product quality and sustainability outcomes.

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"I am excited to join the British Limousin Cattle Society at a time when I believe there is great opportunity. Consumers are becoming increasingly discerning and expect consistent quality, value and reassurance that meat and dairy have been produced in a way that has a positive impact on the environment and their health," she said.

"Beef has a significant and exciting role to play in the delivery of sustainable diets; unprocessed, nutrient dense protein produced from home-grown feed is what Limousin beef delivers.

"There are many opportunities for us to explore to increase demand and raise the profile of the breed with retail buyers and customers. I am committed to working with breeders to promote the benefits of the breed to deliver for both suckler and dairy beef farmers whilst also driving engagement with UK retailers to develop a supply of Limousin beef.

"The beauty of the Limousin breed is, the cattle speak for themselves and the genetics are well placed to deliver to consumer demands for quality, value and sustainable beef sourced in Britain. Genetics geared towards calving ease, feed efficiency and meat yield will allow us to build a compelling business case for a bespoke supply chain with Limousin genetics at the heart of it," she said.