The latest figures issued to Agriland from the Department of Agriculture, Food, and the Marine (DAFM) show that farmers planted over 2,300km of hedgerows under tranches 1 and 2 of the Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES).

Tranche 1 ACRES farmers planted exactly 1,953,826.93m of hedgerows, with Tranche 2 figures coming in significantly lower at 371,840.55m.

According to DAFM, good quality hedgerows provide multiple benefits such as crop protection, shelter, shade for livestock, improved biosecurity, water quality, carbon sequestration, nesting, and many others.

There is no requirement to cut a hedgerow in ACRES parcels. However, if they are being managed by cutting during the course of the contract, some rules apply.

If existing hedges are greater than 1.8m in height, cutting/trimming is permitted once they are not cut below 1.8m from ground level (or top of bank where applicable).

If existing hedges are less than 1.8m tall, do not cut or trim.

The only exceptions are roadside hedgerows, hedgerows on external farm boundaries, newly established hedgerows (less than 10 years old), hedgerows that were recently coppiced or laid, and hedgerows located in breeding wader hotspot mapped areas. 

If cutting, DAFM stresses not cutting all hedges on the farm in any one year.

For hedgerows that are managed by top trimming, DAFM advises cutting these in an A-shape, which allows the base and sides to receive more light and results in a denser structure that is valuable for wildlife.

According to the ACRES specifications on hedgerow management, where possible, leave at least one thorn tree uncut within each hedgerow. 

It is also advisable that escaped hedges (i.e. hedges that were never topped and have developed into a treeline) should only be side trimmed and not topped. 

Agriland spoke to Teagasc countryside management specialist, Catherine Keena about how to maintain a healthy hedgerow.

She said: "Before you cut any hedge, you need to decide is it a treeline hedge or a topped hedge, or a managed hedge or an unmanaged hedge?

"There's different words to describe each one but they're both completely different.

"A topped hedge is cut in way where you can maybe see over it, whereas a tree line hedge is not topped. A treeline hedge is just let grow more naturally."

Keena said that the whips or small plants which farmers are planting in these hedgerows are designed to be trees.

She said the worst thing a farm can do is cut the plant once it reaches the wire, as this will leave a "stump" and ultimately gaps for livestock in the hedgerow.

When asked how to combat this, Keena said: "The best thing to do is either let the tree grow up fully or cut the whip at the base when it's planted first.

"In simple terms, you plant first, then you cut, then you put the film over it."