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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to written question 120134 answered on 16 March 2026, for what reason GS4 mix is no longer available to farmers.

GS4 was previously an option called ‘Legume and herb-rich swards’ available to farmers under legacy Countryside Stewardship Mid Tier and Higher Tier agreements. This option was replaced with a broadly equivalent action called ‘Herbal leys’ under both the new Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) and new Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier (CSHT) offers.

The original mix used for GS4 was a tightly specified herbal ley mix with high species requirements (containing at least 5 species of grass, 4 species of legume and 4 species of herb or wildflowers). It has been replaced in SFI by the CSAM3: Herbal leys action (with lower minimum requirements) and in CSHT by the CGS4: Herbal leys action (using a mix which can be tailored to meet specific local conditions and to support delivery of specific habitats or species).