Award shows Sheffield's Our Cow Molly is the cream of the crop

Our Cow Molly, based in Dungworth, ice cream-scooped the Future Food Award at the BBC Food and Farming Awards.

The fresh milk brand was created by the Andrew family.

Convinced that they could get a premium for their milk by selling direct to customers, they now deliver to households in the city as well as the University of Sheffield.

Their latest in a string of awards was presented by farmer and agricultural policy expert Mike Gooding and Julia Glotz, managing editor of The Grocer magazine.

Julia described Our Cow Molly as a model that could help save many more of the UK’s struggling dairy farmers.

Eddie Andrew from Our Cow Molly said: “Since we’ve been telling our story as part of the BBC Food and Farming Awards process more and more people are discovering our approach to the tough business of dairy farming, and perhaps through these awards many will be inspired to work in a different way.”

Our Cow Molly is run by Eddie and his brother Dan, and the milking is overseen by their father Graham. After milking each evening, when many dairy farms would be finishing for the day, the on-farm bottling plant is getting to work, processing the day’s milk ready for delivery the next morning.

The Our Cow Molly label on each bottle makes a point of emphasising the freshness and local origins of this ‘Sheffield milk’.

Eddie had a light-bulb moment when a barista explained the benefits of using fresher milk when making coffee – and realised that by controlling the supply chain and shouting about freshness and local production, that this could be a real selling point and give his product more value.

Through a contract with the university and new facilities on farm, he hopes this could be a blueprint for other dairy farms – so many of which are struggling.

Some of the country’s best-known chefs, food writers and broadcasters including Yotam Ottolenghi, Ken Hom, Jancis Robinson, Diana Henry, Mitch Tonks, Angela Hartnett and Stefan Gates came together to celebrate the 16th annual Food and Farming Awards at a ceremony in Bristol.

It was broadcast live on the Mark Forrest show across the BBC Local Radio network on Thursday.

Yesterday, a ‘two-course’ BBC Radio 4 Food Programme special – which will be available to listen to again online on the BBC iPlayer Radio – told the stories of this year’s winners.

A special highlights package recorded at the awards ceremony will be broadcast on BBC Radio 4 today at 3pm.

BBC1’s Countryfile will also report on the Awards on Sunday, May 8.