A DENBY Dale farmer has been given a top award by the Yorkshire Agricultural Society.
Jeremy Holmes, of Delph House Farm, has been named the best farmer under 35 in the society's Farming Enterprise Awards.
Jeremy received the award for his enterprising idea of adding the sale of cream to his milk round. He thought of it when he started separating cream from milk to meet the demand for skimmed milk.
He identified a market for high quality cream and now supplies some of largest restaurants in Huddersfield, Barnsley and Sheffield.
Jeremy, whose family has produced milk for 39 years, delivers milk to 8,000 customers around West Yorkshire.
The milk round was established by his father, Philip, who said: "I started with a five gallon milk round. I laid the flags, now he can walk them."
Jeremy and his cousin Mark Holmes have set up a website www.yorkshiremilk.co.uk, to market the products. They also advertise through mail shots and phone calls. Their efforts have produced 300 new customers in six months.
Although Jeremy won the award, he praised his herdsmen Glen Grundy, Malcolm Stanton and Haydn Davies, from Dugdale Nutrition, Clitheroe, for looking after his 140 dairy cows.
