Nature has always been something that David Felce has taken care of. His farm in the east of England is within a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) due to the numerous rare species of flora and fauna present on the farm and it is also a ‘priority catchment’, aiming to improve water quality.

Monitoring of these rare species is carried out regularly by experts on the farm and David is happy to accommodate them.

Arable margins were first introduced to the fields about 30 years ago, helping biodiversity to blossom and protecting the watercourses and land drains that surround most of his fields from fertilisers and pesticides.

The margins are on average 6m wide, and have a mixture of grasses with tussock grasses near the hedge and grass that is regularly topped at the field edge.

David does not drive on these margins at any stage, except for topping and hedge-cutting. He now uses these margins as a comparison for his soils. The soil under these margins has not been touched in years and the regular organic matter that is added via topping means the soil is now in excellent health.

Informed decisions for biodiversity

The AHDB SAFE (Shelter, Alternative prey, Flower-rich habitat, Environment) approach is considered in all management decisions on the farm to ensure that biodiversity is protected.

David says that this can increase the need for monitoring but it is worth the extra effort. He does still apply insecticides where required, as the farm must remain profitable.

However, he uses decision support systems before applying them to ensure that they are required and to ensure that they will have the maximum benefit at the time of application as they also come with the cost of reducing non-target species numbers.

A six-metre arable margin on David's farm that has been in place for 30 years.

Ridges from the Middle Ages

David has 15ac of ridge and furrow species-rich grassland on the farm. Ridge and furrow are a series of ridges and troughs that were formed by ploughing in the Middle Ages. This grassland has been present and not ploughed since at least 1630, and has never received artificial fertilisers or pesticides. This makes it a vital area for the preservation of rare grassland species and therefore David has included it in many environmental schemes over the years. The farm is also home to many species-rich hedgerows, seven historical ponds of various sizes and Paxton wood, an ancient woodland that borders the southern edge of the farm.

Farm schemes

More recent schemes have seen David enhance the environmental credentials of the farm through the introduction of a wild bird cover mixture on to certain areas on the farm, mainly wetter areas or unproductive areas. This mixture contains triticale, barley, fodder radish, quinoa, linseed, and red and white millet.

The areas of wild bird cover can move around the farm every year, giving David flexibility and acting as a break crop and cover crop for the soils under these less productive areas. David says that he has chosen these areas very carefully to allow other areas of the farm to deliver optimum grain yields.

Selling biodiversity credits

Despite the wild bird cover areas working quite well on the farm in conjunction with the arable margins and existing environmental features, David chose not to renew these scheme agreements in recent years. Instead, he has looked into the possibility of entering Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) agreements.

David Felce on his farm in the east of England.

BNG was introduced in the Environment Act of 2021 by the British government. This states that all new housing and industrial developments must provide a 10% increase in biodiversity compared to pre-development measurements.

This can be achieved by setting aside an area in the development site and managing it for biodiversity, or by buying biodiversity net gain credits.

David is hoping to build up these credits on his farm and subsequently sell them to developers. He feels that the market price for these credits will be higher than the equivalent options under the current environmental schemes in England.

To begin this process, the farm has been surveyed to give a baseline biodiversity value.

Areas were then identified that have the highest potential to deliver credits.

Emphasis is being placed on connecting existing areas of biodiversity via corridors to maximise the potential benefits, such as connecting two existing ancient woodlands with the ponds on the farm.

Other areas being placed in the scheme include awkward field corners and lower-yielding areas. In total, it will include 50ac of the farm, over 20% of the farm. Some of this area will be placed into ‘adjusted grassland’, with the remainder being ‘managed scrub’. Some areas will be managed via topping with other areas being left to grow naturally.

In order to gain these credits, independent verification will be carried out periodically.

In the first number of years, this will focus on the abundance and number of species established, before moving to more detailed studies of biodiversity as the areas evolve and mature.

To clarify the different areas on the farm, David has recorded separate field boundaries for each BNG parcel. This will also help to avoid any risk of dual funding from other schemes. This BNG agreement is for 30 years, so is therefore a considerable undertaking.

Securing a return on investment

However, based upon delivering biodiversity objectives, David says that it should provide a good return from the farm’s less productive areas, while also ensuring that expensive inputs are only utilised on areas of the farm that are most likely to produce a good crop and see a return on investment. This should add to the long-term financial security of the farm.

Furthermore, as this is such a long agreement, David sees it as the perfect opportunity to consider succession planning. David has three daughters, and while they do not have any plans to run the farm in the future, they want to keep the farm in the family.

These BNG areas allow the farm to be kept in the family and generate income without an arduous workload. David tells us that succession is a topic that is often ignored, but it is one that should be talked about much more as most farms will undergo this process.

  • David has arable margins on his farm for the past 30 years.
  • David believes he will be paid more from trading Biodiversity Net Gain than he will from environmental schemes in England.
  • These payments could require a low work effort.