Neat Hedges

Clive

Staff Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Lichfield
tidy as it looks it's not the most environmentally friendly practice really ? if you could double the height of a hedge you would double its ability to sequester carbon plus additional habitat

My view is as long as a hedge isn't encroaching on cropped area or a road safety issue they should be left alone
 

Martin Holden

Member
Trade
Location
Cheltenham
tidy as it looks it's not the most environmentally friendly practice really ? if you could double the height of a hedge you would double its ability to sequester carbon plus additional habitat

My view is as long as a hedge isn't encroaching on cropped area or a road safety issue they should be left alone
I understood that properly cut hedges encourage “middle growth” which wildlife need. To absorb CO2 and produce O2 plant some trees -
Lots of them on mountainous and hilly terrain.
 

Clive

Staff Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Lichfield
I understood that properly cut hedges encourage “middle growth” which wildlife need. To absorb CO2 and produce O2 plant some trees -
Lots of them on mountainous and hilly terrain.

I guess whatever strategy increases biomass is the right thing to do - wonder itv there is any proper research on this ? everyone seems fixated on trees but increasing the sequester efficiency of millions of miles of existing hedges could surely be a big easy climate win for farmers potentially ?
 

Clive

Staff Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Lichfield
Left hedges are awful no habitat at all for birds as the corvids can get in and get them

we managed some near our yard that are predominantly holly differently and have only cut sides for 20years now - they are many times the biomass they were, gone for maybe 1.5m-2m tall to 15-20m tall and home to a lot more birdlife I'm sure
they still look tidy but that extra biomass must be good environmentally
 

bobk

Member
Location
stafford
we managed some near our yard that are predominantly holly differently and have only cut sides for 20years now - they are many times the biomass they were, gone for maybe 1.5m-2m tall to 15-20m tall and home to a lot more birdlife I'm sure
they still look tidy but that extra biomass must be good environmentally
biomass .... thought your middle name was profit
 

Bury the Trash

Member
Mixed Farmer
Clive has a point, it certainly costs a lot in fuel and machinery to trim these days annual being the highest cost. on a modern stock farm youve still got to double fence them as well we find.
laying and fire fire wood use might not look so tidy in the interim but it has its uses and appeal.
course most these days would rather sit on a tractor seat than do the manual labour involved in that.

Road hedges are always , or should be the exception
 

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Red Tractor drops launch of green farming scheme amid anger from farmers

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quote: “Red Tractor has confirmed it is dropping plans to launch its green farming assurance standard in April“

read the TFF thread here: https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/gfc-was-to-go-ahead-now-not-going-ahead.405234/
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