News
Hugh Townsend has for 25 years been the country's "go-to" commentator on farm quotas and rural surveying issues affecting farmers. Having become the country's leading and most innovative quota agent he was broadcast to 3.8 million listeners on Radio 4's PM programme interviewed by Eddie Mayer on the 1st April 2015 – the Dawning of Europe without Milk Quotas, click here. More recently BBC1 interviewed Hugh Townsend on the future of farming following the Referendum, click here.
Hugh Townsend has over the years developed the most creative arrangements to promote an efficient market in farm quotas, in the early eighties developing leasing milk quota without land before the Milk Marketing Board introduced leasing for a part of the milk year.
He represented clients in leading legal cases defending transfers of milk quota and developed the new system of second TQ1 forms protecting the transfer of quotas with land.
In 1991, with Farmers Weekly he produced the first sale price index countrywide and started to publish farm quota sales and leasing graphs which are still published by Farmers Weekly and other publications and can be seen on our Milk Quota & Entitlements pages.
On BBC television he has defended dairy farmers who have been taken advantage of by unscrupulous inpiduals in the farm quota market and was again on television to comment on the "footballers buy milk quota" rumpus.
He regularly writes for Farmers Guardian and the South West's Western Morning News and our experienced team is sought after for their comments on farm quotas.
14.5.2026 – TCS – Natural Capital – HMRC’s Technical (tax) note on ecosystem services
It is very good news to see that HMRC have finally provided some long-awaited clarity with their note published yesterday on the taxation of ecosystem services including the BNG, Carbon and Nutrient Neutrality, although it also highlights the need to seek specialist advice in this complex area. The exact nature of taxation depends on the…
Read More 17.4.2026 – TCS – DEFRA release BNG consultation results
After a long wait, on the evening of 15th April, DEFRA finally released the results of last May’s consultation on BNG. We set out our brief summary (more to follow) and Hugh Townsend’s initial thoughts about the impact of these changes on the market. “As predicted, the BNG market is reinforced and BNG is politically further embedded following the result of this consultation, with some very positive and dynamic changes.” NSIPs – A massive…
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24.4.2026 – Farmers Weekly – Traders expect ‘massive increase’ in BNG demand
Click here to read Hugh Townsend’s comments as at 24th April in a Farmers Weekly article on the results of the 2025 BNG consultation.
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22.4.2026 – Western Morning News – Biodiversity net gain is politically embedded more than ever
See Hugh Townsend’s commentary in the Western Morning news on the results of the BNG consultation. To see the the full article click here.
Read More 15.4.2026 – Western Morning News – Making the most of limited funding available for farming
See Hugh Townsend’s commentary in the Western Morning news on the state of Government support for agriculture. To see the the full article click here.
Read More 10.4.2026 – Farmers Weekly – BNG market set to gather pace as big projects join
Click here to read Hugh Townsend’s comments as at 10th April in a Farmers Weekly article by Suzie Horne on the BNG market.
Read More 27.3.2026 – Farmers Weekly – Farmers face grant delays as advice service hits capacity
“My advice to farmers is to go after these grants. If you get them great. If not, move on and explore other options like natural capital markets and biodiversity net gain.” Hugh Townsend. Click here to read a Farmers weekly article by Philip Case on these grants.
Read More Seminars for landowners and developers – March 2026
The two seminars look at “both sides of the BNG coin” in respect to the challenges facing landowners either going for planning permission, with changes to the NPPF and BNG framework, or creating the BNG units for these developments. The two are intrinsically linked, both needing each other, one providing the demand for BNG…
Read More 19.12.2025 – Nature Restoration Fund: Supporting Natural Capital Markets
The Planning and Infrastructure Act received Royal Assent yesterday, ushering in a new chapter as to how developers can meet their environmental responsibilities. The most immediate impact will be on Nutrient Neutrality for developments within certain sensitive catchments and this will create new opportunities for landowners to enter these ‘Nature Markets’ by providing mitigation measures. Planning and Infrastructure Act The key aspects of the Act are to: 1. Streamline the process for Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs) …
Read More 17.12.2025 – BNG – News in from Parliament Yesterday
Hugh Townsend comments: “A lot of good news for the BNG market following announcements in Parliament on the 16th December and Royal Assent being given to the Planning and Infrastructure Act on the 18th December. 1. Certainty over exemptions applying on only up to 0.2 ha of non-brownfield sites. We await for the DEFRA modelling in 2026 as to what effect this will have on the…
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