The market for biodiversity net gain (BNG) is rapidly emerging, heralding a potentially lucrative opportunity for farmers and landowners.

Estimates of the total annual BNG requirement vary widely. Some reports are suggesting 7,000 ‘units’, while others put it at 7,000ha, an area that has the potential of generating between 20,000 and 40,000 ‘units’.

We’re already seeing demand growing and deals being done, even though BNG is not set to become mandatory under the Environment Act until November 2023.

For some farmers, it might be a case of providing, say, three to six ‘units’ of BNG as a way of supplementing their income, but it’s perfectly conceivable that medium-sized farms could devise schemes that deliver, say, 40 units. The largest farms and estates that pursue it as a central plank of their strategy could provide hundreds or even thousands of units

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