Hedge-laying part-time business, viable?

[betweenthelines]

Contact Highways Agency or roadbuilding contractors. They should be able to give you all the work you want.

 

[Tom_o_m]

Thanks all, really useful to hear your views.

How would you suggest he goes about advertising his services? I can knock him togethera basic website but I doubt that will help too much without more proactively getting his name out there.

Cheers

Tom

 

[nb844]

The best way I found is to get some business cards made and travel around dropping them in at farms.

 

[Tom_o_m]

Thanks nb844, although I'm slightly surprised. Going from my experience offering a deer management service we have found that farmers, unsurprisingly, are a bit cautious about random people turning up out if the blue offering services, and we're always smartly dressed in clean vehicles so are not mistaken for pikeys. We have always tried to make contact first so they are prepared and know what we are about.

Although I guess comparing hedge-laying with deer culling is comparing apples with oranges, due to the risk disparity. I know my parents had some funny sorts asking for shooting rights over their land so tended to have a closed gate policy.

Thanks,

Tom

 

[Derrick Hughes]

Good idea to leave a sappling every 25 yards that will eventuality grow into a mature tree if the Nasty Hedgecutter dont sweep them away .he hates things in his way . rap plenty of barbed wire around it that should stop him

 

[lim x]

Thanks all, really useful to hear your views.

How would you suggest he goes about advertising his services? I can knock him togethera basic website but I doubt that will help too much without more proactively getting his name out there.

Cheers

Tom

Get some vehicle decals made up for his van/truck.
Advertise local newspaper.
Ad in the market reports.
Sign written board outside your property.
Any work that he does, put up a sign whilst working there and leave a small one there when the jobs done.
Facebook.
Leave cards in local fencing suppliers/ag stores.

 

[nb844]

Always where shirts/jumpers with company name on when going round farms. Seems to settle the suspicions a fair bit. Got far more work this way than advertising in papers or local merchants. Facebook page attracts an awful lot of attention but very little work comes of it, loads of time wasters!

 

[borderterribles]

Thanks nb844, although I'm slightly surprised. Going from my experience offering a deer management service we have found that farmers, unsurprisingly, are a bit cautious about random people turning up out if the blue offering services, and we're always smartly dressed in clean vehicles so are not mistaken for pikeys. We have always tried to make contact first so they are prepared and know what we are about.

Although I guess comparing hedge-laying with deer culling is comparing apples with oranges, due to the risk disparity. I know my parents had some funny sorts asking for shooting rights over their land so tended to have a closed gate policy.

Thanks,

Tom

Yes, but to be fair, although hedgelaying involves sharp things, I assume he wouldn't be carrying a rifle?
Any private estates in the area? Call into the Estate Office with a business card? They often have lengths of hedge that aren't on let ground, but still require attention.

 

[Tom_o_m]

Excellent ideas, thank you.

 

[Doing it for the kids]

Just picking this back up - trying to get a price for about 500 - 1 km of hedge laying in Oxfordshire - any one interested?

 

[Exfarmer]

I would not be happy paying for hedge laying that would not keep animals in, if , of course they had something half decent to go at in the first place. After all the hedge were planted for that very purpose in the first place>

 

[farmerm]

I would not be happy paying for hedge laying that would not keep animals in, if , of course they had something half decent to go at in the first place. After all the hedge were planted for that very purpose in the first place>

Don't some of the grants require you to put up a fence after hedge laying? Sure my neighbors where fencing on boxing day to meet a deadline or they wouldn't have got paid?

 

[Exfarmer]

Don't some of the grants require you to put up a fence after hedge laying? Sure my neighbors where fencing on boxing day to meet a deadline or they wouldn't have got paid?

I was replying to a suggestion that cattle and sheep could get through any hedge.
I would certainly keep them away for the first couple of years
But it is a very long time since I kept cattle and far longer since I had a hedge laid

 

[Tubbylew]

Just picking this back up - trying to get a price for about 500 - 1 km of hedge laying in Oxfordshire - any one interested?

Have you tried

https://www.hedgelaying.org.uk/pg/contractors/main.aspx

 

[AvonValleyFarmer]

I was replying to a suggestion that cattle and sheep could get through any hedge.
I would certainly keep them away for the first couple of years
But it is a very long time since I kept cattle and far longer since I had a hedge laid

I'd agree with you about a hedge being stock proof. Surely that's the whole idea?

 

[Doing it for the kids]

Just picking this back up - trying to get a price for about 500 - 1 km of hedge laying in Oxfordshire - any one interested?

Looking at this now for next season - 677 m in total - 2 separate hedges. Please PM me if interested.

 

[Brisel]

Hi All,

My parents recently retired and sold the farm, although it was my mum that ran the farm my dad was hands on.

He's a trained hedge-layer and has won amateur awards, so he has the skills, and it would keep him active; quite frankly he's a bit crap at doing nothing. The question is, do you think there is any real market for hedge-laying? He's in the north Somerset area.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

Tom

I do 2 miles of hedge work every year. A mixture of laying and planting, plus maintenance of recent work, gapping up etc. I have a crew of elderly chaps who've done it for years but their idea of a day's work is to turn up at 10am and go home at 2pm so they are no longer capable of doing it all. PM me please. I'm in East Dorset. Your website doesn't say where you are. We're not looking for deer control - we have 4 gamekeepers who do that across the estate plus 2 professionals who cover the forestry and tenanted land.

Yes, there is good demand for hedge laying here - it is becoming a lost art as the younger generation isn't interested in working outdoors in winter. We will see what becomes of ELMS as I expect laying to be supported. I did some under our Countryside Stewardship but to be honest we do it regardless. It's what my boss likes spending his BPS on. I would contact the farmer clusters as this would be a god starting point and access to a lot of environmentally friendly farmers. https://www.farmerclusters.com/ Contact the GWCT, FWAG South West too - they would be a good source of work indirectly.

 

[Chasingmytail]

Convert meter into hourly rate if self employed with tools, truck, advertising etc its going to have to be over the usualy £10ph lark to make it a viable business to pay the bills and give you a decent weekly income.

 

[Barleymow]

had a talk from a hedge layer he charges a yardage rate a little over the granted meter payment

 

[Devil's advocate]

We always found that without fencing after sheep will eat the buds at the bottom of the hedge. Keep them away from it for the first year or two and it's fine.

I'm in drystone wall country which suits me fine.

But we have a mile of hedges on the lower heavy ground. I've often thought if we had them laid just before the land was ploughed for arable crops. Five years later the hedge would be in great shape for controlling sheep grazing for part of the season ie after hay crop.