Genocide in the countryside

[onthehoof]

Watch out

 

[M-J-G]

I've taken over a farm where some hedges haven't been cut for over 20 years and they are tall thin and almost blowing over in the wind, with no signs of wildlife.

We have been cutting them down and allowing them to grow back to 6ft A shaped hedges and they are back teaming with wildlife where they are thick enough to provide cover from predators for birds and plenty of food and room for nests.
Even one summer after cutting they are improved.

I wonder if people realise that if they make us get rid of livestock, there will be more reason to cut hedges early in the autumn for cropping and there will be less livestock for insects to live around for birds to live off.

 

[Kidds]

So are we to glue the leaves on for the winter to avoid the brown stick appearance?
and unless mistaken that is elm isn't it? Let that grow up a bit and the beetles have it anyway.
\i do wish these people would feck off rather than sit peering out onto their concrete patios writing shite.

 

[yoki]

When are these people going to twig on (excuse the pun) where the real problems are and start picketing garden centres, plant nurseries, etc.

They need to start complaining to the BBC and tell them to desist with all their programmes advising people how and when to prune their little sterile plants in their little immaculate but essentially sterile gardens and just let it all grow wild, just like they want the farmers to do.

Monty Don needs cancelled!

 

[Spencer]

They are just ignorant to the actual practice of what hedge cutting does.

 

[yellow belly]

No cutting from march to September on farms

do they not realise if roadside hedge don’t get cut the hedge encrouches the road

we trim every other or every 3 years masses of berries if hedges left too long then they become open and unprotective

 

[Kevtherev]

Man planted those hedgerows do they not realise this?
I’ve been hedgerow thugging for nearly 30yrs not killed maimed or injured anything.
(Maybe a cyclist or two @Bury the Trash )

 

[Andy Nash]

Yes I try to have hedges of different sizes and shapes. I think it is the uniformity of annual hedge cutting that is bad for bird life. Not possible on a road side of course.

 

[yellow belly]

A lot of farm wild life avoids hedgerows because that where the foxs and badger travel up and raptors hide
lapwings hares skylarks prefer big open fields
my largest fields have more per acre than the small field blocks

any field with a used footpath has a tenth of the wild life of undisturbed fields
The simple layman’s conclusion walkers cause the loss of wildlife

 

[Kevtherev]

I tight brushed thorn hedge is a far better shelter for songbirds than a tall leggy hedge all they hold is magpies and squirrels.
When you see a raptor about like a sparrow hawk all the song birds dive into a hedge for protection.
I’ll bet that person resides in an immaculate town house with manicured gardens devoid of life with an Electric vehicle parked on the front they shop in Waitrose and Ocado probably.
Their twattery knows no bounds.

 

[Spencer]

I tight brushed thorn hedge is a far better shelter for songbirds than a tall leggy hedge all they hold is magpies and squirrels.
When you see a raptor about like a sparrow hawk all the song birds dive into a hedge for protection.
I’ll bet that person resides in an immaculate town house with manicured gardens devoid of life with an Electric vehicle parked on the front they shop in Waitrose and Ocado probably.
Their twattery knows no bounds.

And probably has two Cats

 

[SilliamWhale]

I'd love to be able to cut them all in February, but I just can't guarntee the weather.

 

[Andy Nash]

A lot of farm wild life avoids hedgerows because that where the foxs and badger travel up and raptors hide
lapwings hares skylarks prefer big open fields
my largest fields have more per acre than the small field blocks

any field with a used footpath has a tenth of the wild life of undisturbed fields
The simple layman’s conclusion walkers cause the loss of wildlife

Walkers and particularly walkers and their dogs.

 

[PSQ]

I'd love to be able to cut them all in February, but I just can't guarntee the weather.

That begs the question, when do the embryonic leaf buds start to form?
As in at what point does later hedge cutting do serious harm to the following year’s growth?
I suppose it’s species dependent, so for general discussion let’s say Hawthorn. Leaves start to open up here around the 1st of April, but I can’t say I could put a date on the buds starting to form.

 

[Jackov Altraids]

Having discussed this with someone that has trimmed hedges all year round, there are differing affects whenever it is done.
January/ February - Minimum biomass and low moisture content makes it a lot easier to cut, saving time and fuel but ground conditions may make trimming impossible

March/ April - Maximum effectiveness. Easy cutting and stunts growth for the longest.

May/ June - Should be avoided. Maximum impact on the flora and fauna and soon needs doing again.

July/ August- Allows regrowth so the hedge has some cover over winter and ground conditions should be favourable

September/ October- Usually fits in well with reduced workload. A very average affect on hedges.

November/ December- Good for removing bramble that might catch sheep all winter.


Doing a bit year round, avoiding May and June would be best for all.

 

[yellow belly]

Having discussed this with someone that has trimmed hedges all year round, there are differing affects whenever it is done.
January/ February - Minimum biomass and low moisture content makes it a lot easier to cut, saving time and fuel but ground conditions may make trimming impossible

March/ April - Maximum effectiveness. Easy cutting and stunts growth for the longest.

May/ June - Should be avoided. Maximum impact on the flora and fauna and soon needs doing again.

July/ August- Allows regrowth so the hedge has some cover over winter and ground conditions should be favourable

September/ October- Usually fits in well with reduced workload. A very average affect on hedges.

November/ December- Good for removing bramble that might catch sheep all winter.


Doing a bit year round, avoiding May and June would be best for all.

But 2 year growth has 10 time the overwintered fruit and masses of sloes this year some as big as plums
imho we should all have a mix of cutting times and heights
but defra payments only for 2 or 3 year cutting and no summer cutting need more variety
as they say variety is the spice of life

 

[Kevtherev]

Always lay hedges with an R in the month.

 

[Jackov Altraids]

Always lay hedges with an R in the month.

They way the climate is 'shifting', I'm not sure that is as relevant as it used to be.

 

[HatsOff]

The website is a bit of a hoot too.

Statement by Joanna Lumley DBE, February 2023, at a time when the Sustainable Farming Initiative documentation did not include ANY reference to hedgerow management whatsoever:

Err, what? There's has always been an entire section on hedgerow management.

Every year in the UK, trillions of tonnes of harvest are lost to tractor-driven blades.

Trillions? Trillions of tonnes?

Surely this is a TFF arranged parody....?

Edit

I asked Google Bard what weighs a trillion tonnes:

A trillion tonnes is a massive unit of weight, equivalent to 1,000,000,000,000 (one quadrillion) kilograms. It is difficult to comprehend the scale of a trillion tonnes, but here are a few examples of things that weigh about that much:

All of the human-made objects on Earth, including buildings, roads, bridges, and machines
The Great Barrier Reef, the world's largest coral reef system
The Mount Everest mountain range
The asteroid Vesta, the second-largest asteroid in the solar system
The moon Pluto and its moons

 

[Muck Spreader]

What a load of old twaddle. The word 'genocide' should only be used for situations where it is a fact, like Ukraine.