Hedgerow cutting procrastination – “Go on, give it a go”

Recently the government introduced the new Hedgerow Management Regulations (England) 2024 which plugged the gap left by cross-compliance measures ending, for agricultural hedgerows. For more information check out our recent article on this announcement.

Although for many landowners this may not have changed anything (as cross-compliance meant seasonal cutting rules already), it does mean now that most of our agricultural field hedges are covered by these regulations. What this means for hedgerow cutting is no cutting between 1st March to 31st August.

For those managing hedgerows alongside roads or paths, it is essential that they are managed to ensure the safety of all of us walking, cycling, driving, scooting, riding, or however you may travel. For this reason there are some exemptions for e.g. hedges along roads or paths.

This year we’ve had lots of rain (maybe too much!) and this combined with summer’s sun, means that at this time of year our hedgerows are looking full, billowy and a bit wild.

For some, this may look ‘unkempt’ and the temptation to cut hedges may be great, especially as we get on into the latter stages of summer. For those who are eagerly awaiting 1st September it is worthwhile thinking about the benefits of holding off on getting the flail out and letting hedges grow a bit more, or even giving them another year off being cut.

Why would we do that?

A lot of our hedgerow tree and shrub species flower on second-year growth. This means that annually cutting drastically reduces the amount of flowers and therefore berries produced – not ideal for pollinators or overwintering birds.

At this time of year our hedgerows have been growing well after flowering in the spring and early summer and a berries, nuts and fruit will be setting, ready to be the much-needed resource of over-wintering birds, mammals, insects and human hedgerow foragers.

Cutting hedgerows in early autumn can remove a lot of this essential food-resource, before wildlife needs it later in the season. We know that uncut hedgerows, hedgerows that have had at least 2 years off being cut, hedgerows that have been incrementally trimmed, and hedgerows that are cut later in the winter have far more food provision for over-wintering wildlife so by holding off on cutting, we can really help out. Skipping a year can also save a bit of cash too!

Cutting in autumn is essential for some landowners as ground conditions in late winter can mean that getting a tractor into some fields can be difficult and destructive in itself to field margins.

For those who can hold off, this is one of the few times that a bit of hedge cutting procrastination can really pay off.