On the road and back again

Back from my jaunt around the beautiful west of the country in the UK, and am enjoying a drink from my new cow mug. Thank you very much for your hospitality, Wyke Farms. It was a great day out and very interesting to see how the typical dairy processor is changing their outlook. Instead of waiting for the next number to increase or fall on milk prices, processors are looking internally and seeing how they can produce the most milk for the least money, while still protecting animal welfare and their lifestyle.

Wyke Farms is an impressive example of how technology is being used for conservation and sustainability. The wastewater is reprocessed and recycled now, as is the cow and pig waste, using anaerobic digestion. The methane energy generated from the plant runs a one megawatt combined heat and power plant, generating heat to warm boiler water and milk ready for pasteurisation. An array of solar panels sits on the barn. They whey itself is shipped to the dryers down the road at Barbers.

Another great day out for me was my first outing as judge at the Great Taste Awards. Thanks very much Guild of Fine Food! These tastings cover a range of products and there are nearly 10,000 entries yearly. It is an amazing logistical effort to get all these people in one place for months, and a credit to the organisers. I met a lot of interesting people from the whole spectrum of the food community too. Plus ate an awful lot of fairly tasty items – even things I didn’t think would be good. Chilli jam, anyone?