TWO leading Yorkshire farm businesses have made it through to the national final of the National Farmers' Union Farming Excellence Awards 2004.

Judy Bell, of Shepherd's Purse Cheeses, in Thirsk, and Guy Poskitt, who grows, packs and sells carrots at his farm near Goole, have both been selected to represent the region in the final on March 11 and will face stiff competition from around the country.

Judy was named winner of the regional Great British Food Award earlier this month, dazzling the judges with the quality of her cheeses that include sheep's milk, cow's milk and even buffalo milk varieties.

From modest beginnings, Judy's rise to national prominence has been meteoric with several of her cheeses, including Yorkshire Blue, Mrs Bell's Blue and Yorkshire Feta, now award- winning brands in their own right.

Judy's cheeses now grace many supermarket deli counters and have appeared on the menu of both the House of Commons and Concorde.

Guy Poskitt has developed his multi-million pound carrot business employing just about every growing and processing innovation possible. For this reason, he took the regional award for the Best Innovation In The Food Chain.

He regularly invests in state-of-the-art processing and packing equipment. Last year, he achieved a UK first when thanks to links with numerous growers in Scotland he was able to supply carrots for 52 weeks a year. He is now the largest carrot grower supplying Asda.

Updated: 09:46 Tuesday, March 02, 2004