Kaplan Prize won by Yotvata dairy herd team
Bezalel Rubin
  
' The team of workers of the dairy herd of Yotvata in the Arava has won the prestigious "Kaplan" prize, and will take part in a reception held by President Yitzchak Navon' .  
The story behind these headlines is that of six young men who by their perseverance created something out of nothing. They proved wrong all those experts who, 25 years ago, insisted that in this place, in the middle of the desert, dairy herds were not feasible.  
The members of Kibbutz Yotvata believed from the beginning that even with the oppressive heat and the saline water, it would be possible to cultivate crops for cow feed and establish a sizeable herd.  
Today the Yotvata herd is considered large by Israeli standards (260 milk cows), and complies with the highest technological standards.
Visitors are amazed by what has been accomplished by this handful of youngsters. 		 
The prize was awarded not only for technological level and milk quality, but also for efficient utilization of feed, which is all accomplished with minimum capital investment under the difficult climatic conditions of the Arava.  
The team of judges had special commendation for the entire process, from caring for the cows to milk production. This process begins with fodder cultivation, and finishes with marketing of the finished product.  
They had special praise for Ze'ev Tzomberg(44), Yossi Weiss(35), and Nimrod, who immigrated from the U.S.  

Only at Yotvata does the milk flow directly from the milking machines to the processing dairy, in a sterile pipe system with no direct hands-on contact.
The Yotvata Processing Dairy is considered the most advanced in Israel, and has top international ranking as well. Its products conform to the highest international standards, and have a shelf life well above the norm.
Many tourists and sailors coming to Eilat have heard of these products, and many make a point of purchasing these products in the supermarkets and taking them to their hotel rooms.