Opportunities for farmers who want to generate revenue from the environment will top the agenda at a major conference this autumn.
The Norfolk Landscapes Conference & Exhibition 2024 will bring together farmers, researchers, policy makers, investors and industry to highlight the importance of natural capital and the direction of land and coastal management.
Key conference themes will include the economics of environmental change, skills and simplifying funding streams – including carbon, biodiversity net gain, and opportunities around landscape-scale nature recovery.
The event is being organised by Norfolk Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group (FWAG), which has partnered with the Royal Norfolk Agricultural Association, Albanwise Environment, Norfolk County Council and Norfolk Wildlife Trust.
Keynote speakers
Held at the Royal Norfolk Showground, just outside Norwich, the conference takes place on Wednesday, 2 October. It will include an exhibition, engaging seminars and thought-provoking talks – as well as a host of high-level keynote speakers.
Norfolk FWAG trustee and executive director Clarke Willis MBE said: “This event is a must-attend for landowners, farmers, nature enthusiasts, policy makers – and anyone passionate about protecting our environment and wildlife.”
Sources of revenue include biodiversity net gain, natural capital, carbon farming and investment from multinational corporations keen to demonstrate their environmental, social and governance (ESG) credentials.
The conference will explore all these opportunities and more – including ways farmers can secure additional environmental revenue streams while ensuring that food production remains at the core of their business.
Family farms
Some of Norfolk’s large are already doing this. But so too are smaller family farms. Good production and nature can co-exist comfortably and profitably – including in areas where agriculture is a key part of the rural economy, says experts.
“We are keen to demonstrate that good farming and good nature recovery can go hand in hand,” says Eliot Lyne, chief executive of Norfolk Wildlife Trust. “It is not a case of choosing between nature or food security.”
“We are seeing many more farmers and landowners looking to do both. It is a generational shift in how farms look and feel. It is about good stewardship and doing what is right for the land as well as what is right for the marketplace.”
The transition away from the Basic Payment Scheme has acted as a huge catalyst, says Mr Lyne.
“We are landowners ourselves – with 25% of our income from agri-environment schemes. We are facing the same challenges as farmers.”
Working together
Norfolk farmer Glenn Anderson is project lead at the Wendling Beck Exemplar Project (WBEP) – a pioneering habitat creation, nature restoration and regenerative farming project, spanning almost 800ha (2,000 acres) north of Dereham.
The project is a collaboration between private landowners, local authorities, environmental NGOs and Anglian Water. It aims to transform land use for environmental benefit while building community and environmental resilience.
Some marginal land is being taken out of production. But food production is continuing – including via regenerative and pasture-based approaches, with livestock used to manage the landscape rather than wholly intensive cereals.
