Wyke Farms managing director Rich Clothier has been recognised in the King’s New Year Honours List 2026 for services to sustainable agriculture and food production, as confirmed by UK Export Finance on 30 December 2025. It’s a people-first story of a family business proving climate action can sit alongside craft and commercial scale.

UK Export Finance nominated Clothier and says it has supported Wyke Farms’ rise overseas. The company now reaches customers in more than 160 countries, employs around 360 people in Somerset and is described by government as the UK’s largest independent cheese producer-evidence that British food can compete globally while raising environmental standards.

Wyke Farms says its operations are powered by 100% renewable energy. Anaerobic digestion turns cheesemaking by‑products and farmyard manure into electricity, with surplus sent to the local grid-including Bruton-while nutrient‑rich digestate replaces synthetic fertiliser. Solar generation and heat recovery help cut demand in processing.

Why this matters: methane. Government data show agriculture accounted for 48% of UK methane emissions in 2023, with cattle responsible for 78% of agricultural methane-mostly from digestion. Targeting farm emissions is therefore central to near‑term climate progress because methane reductions deliver quick wins for warming.

DEFRA’s Agri‑climate report adds important context: agriculture produced 49% of UK methane and 71% of nitrous oxide in 2021. The Climate Change Committee estimates agriculture made up about 11% of total UK greenhouse gas emissions in 2022, with livestock methane the biggest share-underscoring the sector’s role in carbon budgets.

Policy is starting to match the challenge. The UK Methane Action Plan outlines support for methane‑suppressant feed products, with a mandate for proven options in England by 2030 at the latest, alongside animal‑health measures and standardised farm carbon calculators to unlock private finance. That gives producers clear tools to cut emissions without cutting output.

Wyke Farms offers a practical template many mid‑sized food processors can adapt: turn unavoidable organic waste into energy and fertiliser, trim electricity use with solar and heat recovery, and keep more value-and jobs-local. It’s an industrial strategy you can see on the factory floor, not just in a brochure.

There’s also a strong human thread. Clothier is a third‑generation cheesemaker continuing a Somerset tradition dating back to 1861, now anchored to cleaner operations and international reach. As UKEF’s leadership noted, blending craftsmanship with sustainability makes a compelling export story for British food manufacturers.

The challenge ahead is herd‑level methane. Parliamentary scrutiny warns that agriculture is now the UK’s largest methane source and that overall progress has slowed. If feed additives, improved animal health and better measurement scale through the 2020s, the sector can deliver rapid cuts while keeping rural livelihoods resilient.