An increasingly important question for nature conservation globally is which (if any) economic sectors can find ways to counterbalance biodiversity losses with substantial gains, to the extent that a ‘net positive impact’ is achieved overall. On the one hand agriculture can be implemented in ways that support biodiversity recovery, on the other it is one of the leading global causes of biodiversity loss. Here, we report on the outcomes of an exploration into whether a net positive impact on biodiversity might be achievable for the Dutch dairy sector.