A £65,000 crowd-funding campaign has been launched by Greg and Nicky Parsons of Devon of Devon cheesemaker Sharpham Dairy, to enable their business near Totnes to invest in renewable energy and water recycling.

The campaign, called Curd Is The Word, offers cheese-centered rewards that people can bid for, ranging from £20 to £2,000. As well as having a milk or cheese vat in your name or bathing in milk, there’s plenty of cheese up for grabs, including a cheese-making experience, cheese tour and a Sharpham Cheese and Wine Tasting in your home hosted by Greg and drinks writer and presenter Susy Atkins. To bid for one of the lots and help them raise their target amount, follow the link www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/sharpham-cheese

This year, the award-winning Devon cheese company is celebrating life in their new dairy after 40 years of cheesemaking. The cheese, made with the finest local milk, has recently been championed by James Martin in his new book Cheese, and in a recent episode of his James Martin’s Saturday Morning on ITV1.

The company moved into larger premises near Totnes in 2024 as its reputation and demand for its cheese continues to grow. The £65,000 target will be used to switch the dairy to solar power (£30,000), implement water recycling (£25,000) to minimise waste and maximise efficiency, and upgrade to highly efficient cheese making equipment (£20,000) to further improve productivity and efficiency.

Sharpham is the UK’s first B Corp cheese dairy. Awards include a coveted 3-star Great Taste Award for the Cremet and multiple golds for the mixed milk Rushmore cheese, as well as favourites including Sharpham Brie and Ticklemore.