Landowners and farmers should hold green power - Jeremy Moody

Farmers should beware losing control of their land use options amid conflicting demands for natural capital, public goods and food production.

But while producers were warned not to give away their natural assets in what could turn out to be a poor deal, they were also told that they should take control of a new income stream likely to be worth an estimated £1.7 billion.

In two presentations at this week’s on-line Oxford Farming Conference, those in the farming sector were told it would be vital to assess the options to retain control in carbon trading deals rather than being locked into long-term plans.

Jeremy Moody of the Central Association of Agricultural Valuers said farmers were facing a generation change in just one decade – driven by the removal of support payments alongside Brexit, the drive to net zero and changing political and public demands.

He said that England faced major policy changes focused on environmental goals while Scotland was aiming to increase forestry, restore peatland and reduce farm emissions by 31 per cent by 2032.

“Such policies might help or hinder farmers but the real decisions over land use are theirs to take. This decade offers the transition period in which to manage this major change.”

But Moody warned that farmers should beware the obligations and restrictions of some environmental land use agreements which could tie them into restrictive management for 30 years or more.

“If you’re paid to provide services that’s one thing, but once the buyer takes control of the carbon, biodiversity or other outcomes you may have lost control of the farm, with restrictions and penalties to protect what the buyer has bought.

“These are very big decisions that are as critical as any that we’ve faced in living memory. Be sure to do things on the right terms for the right reasons and the right money,” warned Moody.

But speaking at a separate session, Richard Williamson of Trinity AgTech - a company which has produced a tool for combining the value of carbon sequestration potential along with natural capital and biodiversity metrics - told farmers and land managers that while caution might be prudent, it shouldn’t paralyse them into inactivity.

“Don’t give away your natural assets in what may turn out to be a poor deal. But give yourself the right to choose how they are managed and how you can benefit. The first step is to take control of what you have – measure it so that you are in a position to make an informed choice, whatever your preference or however you benefit.”

Chairman of the company, Dr Hosein Khajeh-Hosseiny added that when there was an inadequate financial appreciation of the value of natural capital, powerful companies and institutions took advantage of the situation resulting in not only greenwashing, but also “green grabs”.

He said that his company believed that ordinary farmers and landowners should exercise the power in the green market, rather than the corporations and convenient coalitions that had presided over “decades-long destruction of natural capital and farmers’ economics.”