Open Country opens butter plant
When American retail giant Cosco came to audit Open Country Dairy’s new butter plant at the Waharoa site and give the green light to supply their American stores, they allowed themselves a week for the exercise.
The categories have been finalised, the schedules have been sent out, and it's now time for cheese makers across the globe to get their entries in for this key industry competition.
The Global Cheese Awards, which are hosted by the annual Frome Cheese and Agricultural Show, are open to everyone in the cheese industry, from the smallest specialist producers who use unique recipes handed down over generations, right through to large creameries and major manufacturers.
This important dairy industry event will be held this year on September 7 in Somerset, UK where judging will take place and trophies are presented to class winners. Organisers want to see more entries from Australia and New Zealand.
It will build further on the unprecedented success of the 2011 Awards, which saw a spectacular 60% rise in entries, and attracted suppliers, retailers and manufacturers from across the UK and, for the first time, internationally.
The Global Cheese Awards are now firmly established as one of the UK's most significant calendar dates for all those involved in the cheese and dairy industry.
Competition chairman, Nigel Pooley, is keen to build on last year's success and raise the bar even higher in 2012.
"We're totally committed to maintaining the momentum this year" he says. "We are encouraging more retailers to compete for these prestigious awards, and new producers from overseas, too. And we hope that the outstanding range and variety of traditional artisan cheeses, the cornerstone of this great show which is now in its 151st year, will be greater than ever."
If you would like to enter a cheese for The Global Cheese Awards, simply visit www.globalcheeseawards.com and fill in the online form. The deadline for submissions is August 8 2012.
While the District Field Days brought with it a welcome dose of sunshine, it also attracted a significant cohort of sitting members from the Beehive – as one might expect in an election year.
Irish Minister of State of Agriculture, Noel Grealish was in New Zealand recently for an official visit.
While not all sibling rivalries come to blows, one headline event at the recent New Zealand Rural Games held in Palmerston North certainly did, when reigning World Champion Jack Jordan was denied the opportunity of defending his world title in Europe later this year, after being beaten by his big brother’s superior axle blows, at the Stihl Timbersports Nationals.
AgriZeroNZ has invested $5.1 million in Australian company Rumin8 to accelerate development of its methane-reducing products for cattle and bring them to New Zealand.
Farmers want more direct, accurate information about both fuel and fertiliser supply.
A bull on a freight plane sounds like the start of a joke, but for Ian Bryant, it is a fond memory of days gone by.
OPINION: Who will replace Miles Hurrell as Fonterra's next CEO?
OPINION: Governments all over the world are dealing with the fuel crisis.