A whole farm approach to natural capital development

The Soil Association and partners at the Woodland Trust, Finance Earth and Soil Association Certification received funding to explore ways for small and medium size farms to participate in natural capital projects, alongside maintaining food production.

Many farmers have opportunities to develop new natural assets by planting trees and establishing habitats to store carbon, increase biodiversity and improve water quality. However, earlier research found that current mechanisms around natural capital projects are complex and generally only accessible to large landowners.  

Completed in March 2025, this project:

• Worked with small and medium size farms to plan and develop a whole farm approach to natural capital development.  
• Explored opportunities for small and medium size farms to work together in clusters and groups to attract funding and make projects easier to manage.

You can read the final project report on the Soil Association website. 

The work was funded by the Facility for Investment Ready Nature in Scotland, supported by NatureScot in collaboration with The Scottish Government and in partnership with the National Lottery Heritage Fund. 

We will review the project’s recommendations to see if they could help to support smaller Woodland Carbon Code projects.