Wyke Farms teams up with Chirrup.ai to turn birdsong into a new tool for tracking biodiversity on dairy farms

Image Credit: Chirrup.ai

Wyke Farms has launched a pioneering project that utilizes artificial intelligence to capture and analyze birdsong, transforming it into meaningful data to make cheese production more harmonious with nature.

The initiative will run for three years and is being developed in collaboration with the UK-based nature technology company Chirrup.ai. As part of the project, bioacoustic devices will be installed not only on Wyke’s farms but also on ten pilot supply farms.

These pilot sites, all located in the South West of England, collectively supply about a quarter of the milk used at Wyke’s cheesemaking facility in Bruton, Somerset.

The devices created by Chirrup.ai can capture birdsong in real-time and then analyze it, turning those sounds into detailed biodiversity data. Farmers and land managers can access this information through a simple web platform, making it easier to monitor bird species, evaluate ecosystem health, and enhance their regenerative farming and sustainability practices.

Bird populations are widely recognised as one of the most sensitive indicators of how well an ecosystem is functioning. By using birds as natural bio-markers, the Chirrup.ai platform also offers valuable insights into soil quality, water health, and the broader biodiversity of farmland. This enables farms to set benchmarks, track progress year after year, and align their work with environmental, sustainability, and governance goals.

Rich Clothier, managing director of Wyke Farms, explained that the project gives the business a scientific and reliable way to measure the health of nature across its farmland.

"Birds are fantastic early-warning indicators for the environment, and with Chirrup.ai's technology, we can see how our land stewardship is making a real difference year after year.”

Conrad Young, founder of Chirrup.ai, described Wyke Farms as an iconic name in West Country dairying and praised its pioneering role.

“It is the first dairy processor to take advantage of Chirrup's low-cost service under the UK Dairy Roadmap, which sets a target of 50% of farms monitoring biodiversity by 2030.

"We're delighted to be working with pioneers like Rich and his team in 2025 and looking forward to other dairy processors scaling up their monitoring from next year.”

The first monitors will be installed on the South West pilot farms next week. Results will be reported annually, including metrics such as the Chirrup Rating, species richness, and trends in biodiversity.