Guest Blog - Why a Natural Capital Assessment is Fundamental for Farm Businesses

CEO of Suffolk Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group (FWAG), Anna Beames, has a passion for helping producers to harness nature-friendly farming practices, to produce food in a sustainable and profitable way.

Anna has been working closely with the LAND360 team at Helmingham estate in Suffolk to demonstrate how understanding natural capital can benefit farm and estate businesses. She shares her positive experience of using LAND360 and how it can help spot income opportunities.

Why is nature-friendly farming so important?

Arguably, farmers are the primary users and providers of natural capital. Farm businesses, and therefore farmers’ livelihoods, depends on natural assets being in a healthy state to support the production of nutritious food.

When elements of natural capital degrade, there will ultimately be a tipping point where they are no longer able to provide farmers and wider society with the vital services we depend on, such as clean, healthy air and drinking water. Sometimes this damage is irreversible.

For example, there are warnings of damaged farmland soil in the UK becoming hydrophobic, losing its ability to absorb water. Soil is the engine room of all farms, and this issue could pose a huge risk to crop production and potentially the food supply chain unless remedial action is taken.

By working with nature to protect and maintain natural assets, such as our soil, farmers can help build a more resilient and sustainable food chain.

How is FWAG encouraging nature-friendly farming?

The FWAG Association is a membership organisation dedicated to advisory services, supporting farmers to produce food in harmony with the natural environment and make the most of agri-environmental subsidies and grants available from the government.

FWAG was established by farmers, for farmers, driven by producers with a genuine love and appreciation for wildlife, nature and conservation.

Working with Glenn Buckingham, farm manager at Helmingham estate in Suffolk, we have been using LAND360 to understand natural capital on the estate and investigate how public and private funding sources could be harnessed to invest in environmental sustainability.

Helmingham is relatively pioneering in terms of testing and trialling Countryside Stewardship schemes and the new Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI), so it’s been the perfect place to trial LAND360 before rolling it out to our 500 members.

Why did Suffolk FWAG choose to work with Fera to understand on-farm natural capital using LAND360?

I wanted to find a natural capital assessment tool that stood the test of time and was borne from science, as opposed to commerce. LAND360 was the stand-out option.

Fera scientists are specialists in analysing the scope, condition and value of natural assets, as well as supporting farmers and land managers to put a figure on their ‘outdoor bank’.

I liken Fera to Sotheby’s or Christy’s. If you were to collect art or antiques of some worth, you would get a valuation from these experts to give you visibility of how valuable the asset you own is.

Likewise, I always encourage farmers to take time to take stock of the natural assets they actually have before making any bold commitments .

Why do you advise farmers to investigate and measure their natural capital?

Farmland data is an incredibly valuable asset in this day and age. The more knowledge you have about the land you manage, the more you are able to adapt.

We’re at a pivotal time in the agricultural sector where a lot is still unknown – including the future market for natural capital investment from private investors.

Understanding the true value of on-farm natural capital enables farmers and land managers to be in a position of choice when it comes to considering investment offers that could help futureproof their business.

It is absolutely fundamental to view natural capital and biodiversity investment as a business decision – as much as buying machinery or planting your crop. To make these decisions accurately and monitor return on investment, it’s really important to have the right tool for the job.