Farmers urged to cut hedges in environmentally friendly way

Experts are calling on farmers to cut hedgerows in a different way this autumn to help nature.

Autumn is the time when many hedgerows are cut back because it is the end of the bird nesting season.

But farmers are being asked to consider cutting their hedges once every two-to-three years, instead of annually, and letting them grow a bit longer.

They say allowing the hedges to grow provides more food and shelter for birds and wildlife, which in turn benefits the environment.

Simeon Day, of the Wildlife and Farming Advisory Group, said: "Repeated trimming can take it [the hedge] back to the knuckle point so it starts callousing.

"All the growth comes from there, it gets leggy at the bottom and hollow and really starts to degrade in quality.

He added: "If you keep trimming it every two-to-three years, or annually, incrementally, but let it go a little bit each year, then you create older wood with blossom, creating a fantastic food resource."

Devon Livestock Farmer Richard Dormor said he already cuts his hedges this way and is seeing the benefits.

"It’s a win-win for me and you haven’t got the cost of cutting it," he said.

"It provides shelter for animals – if you’ve got a long high hedge you’ll see the animals protecting themselves from the weather on the lee side. And we’re quite exposed up here so that’s quite important."

The Devon Hedge Group gives annual awards to farmers who work hard to create wildlife-rich hedges.

Group chairman Rob Wolton said: "Not only will we have maintained our beautiful and wonderful world-class hedgerow networks but they will be in even better condition.

"We’re all talking these days about nature recovery; about how important it is to do good positive things for wildlife.

"I think looking after hedges in this healthy way will do an enormous amount for that."

The environmental groups said hedges alongside roads would still have to be cut in a way that prioritised safety but could still be cut in a sympathetic way.