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.
As guests gathered on what is known as the Speaker's Lawn - a beautifully manicured patch of grass behind the main buildings of Parliament - to mingle and enjoy a lamb chop to celebrate National Lamb Day, the mood was very much upbeat.
Global dairy prices are on a roll, recording a fourth consecutive jump on the Global Dairy Trade (GDT) auction this year.
Booming primary sector exports are helping lift earnings for farm service providers.
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