Hedgerow management

Hedgerows are a historic landscape feature and a vital asset for a resilient farming business.

More than just field boundaries, hedgerows provide a whole host of benefits for farms and nature. When managed appropriately, they provide shelter for livestock, boost soil health and offer a refuge for wildlife.

What is hedgerow management?

Hedgerow management is the process by which hedges are maintained and cared for. As hedges generally don't occur naturally in the landscape, they can quickly lose their shape and structure if left to their own devices and require management as they grow.

Benefits of hedgerows

Hedgerows can be incorporated in ways that not only benefit the farm business, but also the wider ecosystem, the wildlife and the people who live there.

Trees or shrubs planted in hedges offer shade, shelter and extra browse for livestock, which in turn improves their immune system, reduces worm burden and provides important micronutrients. Hedges also shelter crops, reducing shoot damage and wind chill, as well as accessing the nutrients crops can’t reach. As sheltered soils are warmer, this means you can extend your growing and grazing seasons.

Hedgerows can further benefit your land by:

• stabilising the soil, reducing run-off and improving resilience to drought and flooding
• encouraging a greater diversity of species by providing food and habitat, which could be part of an integrated pest management plan
• producing a sustainable source of good quality wood chip and wood fuel.

How to manage a hedgerow

Hedgerows are dynamic, diverse farming features that require the correct management in order to thrive. The ideal hedgerow is thick, dense and made up of multiple species of tree, shrub and flowering plant.

To create and sustain this, hedgerows can be managed on a 20–40 year cycle.

The hedgerow management cycle

1. Start with new planting, gapping up, or rejuvenation by coppicing (up to 5% of total farm hedges) or laying. Leave established hedgerow trees and consider adding more. For more information on appropriate species for your site location and growing conditions, please see our tree species handbook.
2. When fenced from livestock and deer, newly planted or rejuvenated hedges can be incrementally trimmed every year for five years to encourage thick growth from the base.
3. Leave hedges to grow tall by gradually increasing the trimming height. Cut every two to three years, ideally in late winter so that birds can access the berries and fruit. Observe and avoid cutting during the bird breeding season, which generally runs from March to September.
4. Once the hedge has grown up and out, management is not required, allowing the hedge to build ecological farm business value.

Thanks to Megan Gimber from the People's Trust for Endangered Species for her input into this work.

This work has also been supported by players of People's Postcode Lottery.