Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the total area of land was in (a) entry-level agreements, (b) mid-tier countryside stewardship agreements, (c) higher tier countryside stewardship agreements and (d) higher-level stewardship schemes in each year since 2022.

Total area of land covered by Countryside Stewardship and Environmental Stewardship agreements:

For Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier (hectares), the figures were:

2022 - 453,789

2023 - 513,288

2024 - 603,626

2025 - 574,676

For Countryside Stewardship Mid Tier (hectares) the figures were:

2022 - 459,334

2023 - 567,482

2024 - 660,535

2025 - 594,952

For Higher Level Stewardship (hectares), the figures were:

2022 - 70,729

2023 - 63,163

2024 - 53,832

2025 - 51,792

For Entry Level plus Higher Level Stewardship (hectares), the figures were:

2022 - 975,307

2023 - 851,967

2024 - 683,271

2025 - 633,248

For Organic Entry Level plus Higher Level Stewardship (hectares), the figures were:

2022 – 63,240

2023 – 44,548

2024 – 22,874

2025 - 19,736

Please note the following points:

• Year dates have been taken, as the agreement not being closed as of 01^st Jan of each year
• The sum of each area-based revenue option capped at parcel total area has been used to calculate areas
• Note also that Rotational Options have not been included for either scheme
• Different agri-environment schemes and types of agreement can be carried out on the same physical piece of land, so the columns should not be summed
• These figures are estimates based on the available data
• The numbers provided here do not match previously published figures from FCP on area under agri-environment schemes in England in 2024, due to slight differences in date and methodology, particularly around rotational options
• The numbers provided here do not match figures from Agriculture in the UK due to methodological differences.