Welcome to Biodiversity in Dairy
Exploring how biodiversity can be measured, rewarded, and integrated into the future of dairy farming!
Biodiversity is becoming one of the defining challenges and opportunities for agriculture. Around the world, farmers, food companies, governments, financial institutions and consumers are increasingly asking the same question:
How can we produce nutritious food while restoring nature?
As a dairy farmer in the Netherlands and a Nuffield Scholar '25, I am on a two-year international journey to explore how biodiversity can be measured, valued, and rewarded within the dairy supply chain.
My name is Wilco Brouwer de Koning. Together with my family, I run Farm Ter Coulster in Heiloo, where dairy farming, nature management and community engagement have been connected for generations. Through my work on our farm, my involvement in the Dutch dairy sector, and my international network within the dairy industry, I have seen that biodiversity is no longer a niche topic—it is becoming a critical factor for the future resilience and societal acceptance of dairy farming.
My Nuffield Scholarship Journey
From 2024 to 2026, I am travelling across the world to learn from farmers, researchers, policymakers, environmental organisations and dairy companies.
My goal is to identify practical approaches that help dairy farmers:
- Measure biodiversity in a reliable and meaningful way.
- Improve biodiversity outcomes on their farms.
- Create economic value from biodiversity performance.
- Strengthen the connection between food production and nature restoration.
I will visit and learn from initiatives in different countries, compare measurement systems, explore emerging biodiversity markets, and investigate how supply chains are developing incentives for nature-positive farming.
Through this website, I will share my experiences, observations, reports, presentations and key lessons from this journey.
Building a Nature-Positive Dairy Sector
I believe that dairy farmers produce far more than milk alone.
Farmers manage landscapes, maintain ecosystems, support rural communities and have the potential to play a major role in restoring biodiversity. However, if society expects farmers to deliver these public benefits, we must also develop systems that recognise and reward them.
My ambition is to contribute to a future where biodiversity becomes a measurable and valued part of dairy farming performance—creating benefits for farmers, nature, supply chains and society as a whole.
Why biodiversity matters in dairy farming
Dairy farming depends on healthy ecosystems.
Healthy soils, clean water, pollinators, diverse grasslands, birds, insects and functioning nutrient cycles all contribute to productive and resilient farms. At the same time, dairy farms manage large areas of land and therefore have a significant influence on the biodiversity of rural landscapes.
Across the world, farmers are increasingly being asked to contribute to nature restoration and environmental goals. Yet many important questions remain unanswered:
- What exactly should we measure when we talk about biodiversity?
- Which indicators truly reflect biodiversity performance on farms?
- How can biodiversity improvements be verified and monitored?
- How can farmers be rewarded fairly for the ecosystem services they provide?
- What role should dairy processors, retailers, governments and financial institutions play?
These questions are central to my Nuffield study.
Follow the Journey
This website serves as an open platform for sharing knowledge, experiences and ideas.
Whether you are a farmer, researcher, student, policymaker, food company, financial institution or simply interested in the future of sustainable agriculture, I invite you to follow this journey.
I welcome discussions, examples, research, partnerships and sponsorship opportunities.
Together, we can explore how biodiversity and dairy farming can strengthen each other and help create a more resilient and nature-positive food system.
Wilco Brouwer de Koning
Dutch Dairy Farmer | Nuffield Scholar
Founder of Biodiversity in Dairy
