Wyke Farms Supports Green Learning as it opens its Visitor Centre

Launches Green Visitor Centre to share 100% Green sustainability project

Inspiring others to become more sustainable

Somerset, UK – 26^th September 2013 – Wyke Farms, the UK’s largest independent cheese producer and milk processor, has become the UK’s first national cheddar brand to be 100% self-sufficient in green energy with the launch of its Biogas plant last week. Today Wyke Farms continues its 100% Green sustainability initiative by opening its Green Visitor Centre – an innovative on-site resource dedicated to educating others about sustainability in action and Wyke’s own long-term sustainability project.

The new Visitor Centre is located on the site of Wyke Farms’ Biogas plant, where visitors will have the opportunity to tour the anaerobic digester and learn how it converts Wyke Farms’ biodegradable waste materials into energy, and how the energy is used to power the cheese dairy. The centre will be open to local groups, such as schools and Young Farmers’ Clubs, as well as other manufacturers and farm-based businesses who are keen to learn about sustainable farming. Visitors will find out about Wyke Farms’ 100% Green initiative, which is its ongoing commitment to work in harmony with the environment in all areas of its business to be fully sustainable, inside and out.

In addition to the Biogas plant, Wyke has already invested in several measures to reduce and use resources more resourcefully including solar paneling across the farm buildings, more efficient factory equipment and procedures, as well as reduced packaging. It is now a 100 per cent sustainable working farm, which sources all of its electricity and gas from both solar and biogas, generated from the farm and dairy waste.

 “Through sharing our 100% Green Initiative with others, we hope to inspire similar farm-based businesses to emulate what we are doing here” said Rich Clothier, managing director and 3^rd generation family member at Wyke Farms. “With the new Visitor Centre we want to show the next-generation of cheesemakers and manufacturers how they can become even greener and more sustainable than we are.”

The Wyke Farms Green Energy Visitor Centre is open to group visits for tours by appointment only as Wyke is a working farm.  Visits will be held Monday to Friday 10am-4pm.  For further information on the tours, please contact Lucy Francis at Wyke Farms by calling: 01749 812424 or by emailing: lucy.francis@wykefarms.com

Wyke Farms has been producing its award-winning cheddar for over a century and has grown to become the largest family-owned cheese maker in Britain selling over 14,000 tonnes annually. The company have achieved substantial growth year on year by staying true to the traditional values behind the brand and have become the fastest growing cheddar brand at a rate of 10% every year for the past five years.

Wyke Farms have 150 years of family farming experience. Wyke Farms’ cheese and butter is made with the milk from their cows grazing the lush pastures of the Mendip Hills in the centre of the Cheddar making region in Somerset.

The Wyke Farms products are available nationwide and can be found in Asda, Co-op, Makro, Sainsbury’s Tesco and Waitrose.

Tags: biogas plant, Cheddar, cheese, green energy, green learning, Green Visitor Centre, Rich Clothier, sustainability, sustainable farming, Wyke Farms

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