The 2022 Northern Farmers Award winners are Ed Andrew and family members of the Our Cow Molly brand, who supply the cafes in the University of Sheffield with milk to make coffee, and have set up its milk processing plant which is opening to tourists.
Sponsored by Mole Country Stores, the Northern Farmer Awards, supported by industry experts, the event provides local farmers, suppliers, breeders and all those involved in the industry with recognition for the work they do throughout the year.
Our Cow Molly has been working for many years to protect the environment, produce high-quality dairy products, welcome visitors and support local industry.
Our Cow Molly produces and supplies milk, cream and other dairy products of the day to several cafes and restaurants in Sheffield, as well as a COOP supermarket.
Mr Andrew has used reusable glass bottles to provide residents with daily fresh milk for ten years, which is better for the environment after 13 cycles.
Milk in glass bottles
Mr Andrew said: “We are not just doing farming. We are also quite open to explaining what goes on on the farm so the public can be there. I think that is really what we do.”
Many tourists and schools come to Our Cow Molly every summer to visit the production process of the farm. Mr Andrew tried to give ordinary people time to film and let residents and students see what the farm was doing and taste fresh milk and ice cream.
The farm’s vending machine displays Our Cow Molly products and other products also produced by local farms, including free-range eggs and bacon, which appear on the breakfast tables of Sheffield residents.
Vending machine in the farm
Our Cow Molly has always insisted on supporting Sheffield busineses such as Blowplast, which makes milk bottles, and Crown Labels, which makes bottle labels.
“100% of the money that people spend on our milk benefits at least three businesses directly in Sheffield,” said Mr Andrew.
Three of Sheffield University’s busiest cafes have replaced plastic bottles with milk churns from Our Cow Molly since October last year, resulting in a dramatic reduction of 87,000 single-use bottles per year.
