Britain’s enclosed farmland provides natural services valued at £237 billion but the wildlife and habitats supporting that wealth remain under severe pressure.
The Office for National Statistics has put a long-term value on the food, renewable electricity, pollution removal, climate regulation and recreation provided by agricultural land.
Its latest natural capital accounts estimate those services delivered £5.9 billion of value during 2023, including £5.3 billion from living ecosystems and £647 million from renewable electricity. Agricultural biomass, including crops, animal feed and grazed vegetation, accounted for the largest share, with an annual value of £5.4 billion and an estimated asset value of £175 billion.
The figures show farmland is far more than a place for producing food, supporting wildlife, absorbing some pollutants, storing carbon and providing space for millions of people to spend time outdoors.
Recreation and tourism visits to enclosed farmland were valued at £895 million in 2023, with 866 million visits recorded across the UK.
Renewable electricity generated on farmland rose almost sixfold between 2011 and 2023, reaching 20,873GWh. Onshore wind produced 11,022GWh and solar supplied 9,851GWh, lifting the annual value of renewable generation from £42 million to £647 million.
However, the environmental indicators reveal a much more troubling picture, particularly for species that depend on farmland habitats. Farmland specialist bird numbers fell by 75% between 1970 and 2024, while specialist butterflies declined by 42% between 1990 and 2024.
Generalist farmland birds and butterflies also fell, although bat abundance increased by 56% between 1999 and 2024. Hedgerow length in England was 25% lower in 2022 to 2023 than in 1984, while organic land use across the UK declined by an average of 2% a year between 2009 and 2024.
The area of enclosed farmland itself has fallen from 54% of the UK in 1990 to 52% in 2024. That represents a reduction of more than 555,000 hectares, an area larger than Northumberland.
There have been some improvements, with carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and ammonia emissions from agricultural activity all falling since 1990.
Soil carbon levels and several measures of soil health have also remained broadly stable, while woodland’s share of farmland is still far higher than it was in the 1980s despite recent declines.
Yet farmland is not automatically a carbon sink. Cropland mineral soils affected by land-use change emitted a net 9.3 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2023, while bioenergy crops removed just over 28,000 tonnes.
The ONS stressed its £237 billion figure is not the market price or intrinsic value of nature. It is a partial estimate of the future services farmland is expected to provide and does not capture every ecological benefit.
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