Dyson’s farms go carbon neutral as profits rise

Higher value cropping and energy diversifications helped propel sales and profits higher at Sir James Dyson’s farming company in 2019.

Beeswax Dyson, which encompasses the electric goods manufacturer’s farming, renewable energy and estate portfolio, made a pre-tax profit of £3.4m from a turnover of £28.3m in the year ending 31 December 2019.

This was up from a profit of £2.6m from sales of £21.9m the previous year.

Last year also marked the point when it became the first large-scale commercial farm to be carbon neutral, it believes, sequestering 300t more carbon than it released.

See also: Beeswax Dyson moves into research ahead of Brexit uncertainty

Sir James and his family are ranked in the number-one spot in the Sunday Times Rich List, with a total estimated net worth across all businesses of £16.2bn.

This year was the first time he held the top spot, up from fifth the previous year as his business grew by £3.6bn.

He owns land worth £394.4m in Beeswax Dyson, according to Companies House filings.

With a Basic Payment Scheme cheque currently worth £1.7m (2018), proposed cuts as part of Defra’s transition to the Environmental Land Management scheme would see its annual payment fall to £524,000 by 2024.