The Farmer Network has said it will hold meetings for farmers in the Lake District, Cumbria, on biodiversity net gain and nutrient neutrality.
The meetings will look at how biodiversity net gain and nutrient neutrality might affect development and how it could also provide opportunities for farms to generate income by offering sites for developers.
The Farmer Network said, during the meetings, farmers will find out more about what this means, and the options currently being explored by the Cumbrian Local Authorities to create a nature-based credit scheme within the county.
The meetings are being held on:
- Tuesday, August 13, at The Victory Hall, Broughton-in-Furness;
- Tuesday, August 20, at the Braithwaite Institute, near Keswick;
- Thursday, August 29, at Wilf’s Café in Staveley.
All meeting start at 7:00p.m and will provide food.
“Cumbria is the second largest producer of both red meat and milk of all England’s counties, and the destination of more than 20 million tourists annually,” the Farmer Network said.
“The transition to a new and evolving rural landscape offers both challenge and opportunity to farmers. This is particularly true with new and evolving concepts such as biodiversity net gain and nutrient neutrality.”
Farmers showing ‘both interest and concern’
Senior project manager for the Farmer Network, Veronica Waller, said: “This is a topic in which farmers are showing both interest and concern as they look to fill the income gap left by the phase out of the Basic Payment Scheme.
“Private finance markets are still in their relative infancy, and it is vital that farmers fully understand the options and implications.”
Farming officer for the Lake District National Park, Claire Foster, said: “Biodiversity net gain and nutrient neutrality could present financial opportunities to generate alternative income for the farm business.
“We are hoping these workshops will bring farmers up to speed and help them make informed decisions about the future path of their farm businesses, in harmony with the Lake District landscape.”
