For all of us at Wyke, sustainability is a way of life. We’ve been working in partnership with nature for four generations and are proud to be pioneers and world-leaders in sustainable farming.
Here at Wyke, caring for the land is as important as the taste of our Cheddar. It’s part of the job, and engrained in the family DNA. We always make sure that we give back more than we take, as part of the legacy we were given and that we want to hand on to future generations.
Wyke is one of Europe’s most sustainable food producers, focused on carbon balance, green energy and water recycling. We make our Cheddar and butter with energy generated with biogas from our own anaerobic digester plant and solar power, as well as conserving habitats and species and actively encourage wildlife in the Brue Valley.
This commitment ensures our Cheddar not only tastes good but also respects and conserves the environment we all depend on. “Look after nature and it will look after you,” as our family saying goes.
At Wyke, our target is to create a Net Positive production to preserve the environment for the future of our planet. We are committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions in everything we do and have conducted cradle-to-grave footprint analysis to see where improvements can be made in areas including feed, soil, manure and energy management.
A 2021 pilot study of 35 of our supplier farms found that the on-farm carbon footprint of milk production was 20% lower than the UK national average*, and in 2022 we conducted a soil-sampling programme on our farms to understand and unlock the value of soil carbon as a natural climate solution. As well as reducing our own footprint through investments and changes in practices, we also share knowledge and encourage our suppliers to work in more sustainable ways.
We use solar energy wherever we can, and have a target to reach 2MW per hour peak with this technology, saving over 1 million kg of CO2 per year. Currently, Solar Photovoltaic Arrays (solar panels) on our farm rooftops give us the energy to cool our milk with ice water and heat exchangers, panels on our production facilities also power our new highly efficient maturation and dispatch store, and a heat exchanger on the fridge compressors generates hot water from the green electrical energy for the packing areas and offices. We also run electric cars and vans powered by solar-generated electric for travelling around the farm and for local shop deliveries.
Our Anaerobic Digestor plant breaks down organic by-products from our cheesemaking, farmyard manure and waste from other local suppliers into natural, green energy. We use this electricity to power our cheesemaking and put the rest back into the grid to power our boilers and feed the local town of Bruton. Additionally, leftover material from the process provides a nutrient-rich organic fertiliser that we use on the land, meaning we don’t have to use artificial fertiliser.
Our state-of-the-art Water Recovery Membrane Plant enables us to recover over 70% of the water used in our dairy, and we also harvest rainwater for washing equipment. Water recovery is particularly important as the changing climate affects the weather patterns, which make droughts and water shortage more likely.
Our aim is to be a beacon for wildlife conservation, and always to work in harmony with the countryside that gives us so much. We do all we can to protect and nurture the land, leaving buffer strips and planting trees and hedges to conserve the diversity of species around us and their habitats along the banks of the River Brue that weaves through the valley where we farm. We also put up insect hotels for the bees and wasps, vital for pollination, and bird boxes to encourage the amazing variety of species to nest in the area.
You can find out all about our journey to green energy at our Visitor Centre, sited just down the lane from our Somerset farm. We’re always happy to welcome schools, local groups, and other manufacturers and farm-based businesses. To arrange a visit, just contact us here.
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