Jersey Jo scoops top honours at Nantwich Cheese Show

This year's supreme inter-breed championship at the Nantwich International Cheese Show held in the last week of July was won by Coldeaton Advancers Josephine – Jo the Jersey for short!

Owners John Stubbs and daughter Jo of Green House Farm in Ashbourne also won the prize for best cow in the Jersey class. This category is sponsored by DSM, manufacturer of the highly regarded and widely used Delvotest® antibiotic residue test which is distributed in the UK by Millwood Products.

Mr Peter Hopwood, Director at Millwood Products, offered his congratulations to the Green House Farm team, saying: ''The show represents very fierce competition so this is a valuable accolade. Dairy farmers everywhere are facing some of the toughest trading conditions imaginable so it is a real tribute to all competitors to see the quality of cattle on display. It reflects farmers' long-term commitment to the industry and to their customers. In return, let us now hope that we start to see the real improvement in dairy farm margins so desperately required. We wish John and Jo every success with their cattle for the future.''

Delvotest is the standard antibiotic test relied upon not only by milk buyers in the UK, but in Europe, the Americas and increasingly in the rest of the World. Dutch group DSM introduced the first of several versions of Delvotest nearly 30 years ago. Since Millwood Products were appointed distributors to the farm and veterinary sectors in to early 90s, the latest version of the test, the Delvotest SP-NT, is now widely used by UK dairy farmers to identify potential risks and to ensure consumers receive milk of the highest quality. Delvotest is used by farmers to check cows after treatment to ensure milk is clear of antibiotic residues before it is marketed. Peter Hopwood comments that most milk buyers now expect farmers to take responsibility for their own testing rather than relying on free tests by depots and creameries. "In practice, farmers are increasingly finding on-farm testing far more convenient and timely, with a much reduced risk of failure and penalties" he remarks. This positive development is fully supported by the dairy industry.