Anyone with an eye for a photo is being encouraged to enter this year's hedgerow photography competition.

The Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers' Association (ICMSA) and Hedgerows Ireland competition is aimed at "capturing the natural beauty of this invaluable aspect of our rural heritage".

This is with a "specific focus on the pivotal role that hedgerows play in ensuring healthy biodiversity".

The organisers said this year they particularly want young people from farm families to use their phones to take a picture that "captures all the magnificence of our beautiful hedgerows at this time of the year". 

“ICMSA is always looking for opportunities to show the real commitment of their farmer-members to the environment and nature," ICMSA president, Denis Drennan said.

"The massive volume of entries to the competition [last year] showed the appetite of the public and the growing appreciation and awareness of the critical role in supporting and enabling biodiversity played by our rural hedges."

Cash prizes are offered in both the 'senior' and 'under-18s' categories.

The winners in both categories will have their cheques presented by Taoiseach Micheál Martin, at the ICMSA's AGM in the Radisson Blu Hotel in Limerick on Friday, November 28.

The competition can be entered online, and winners will be contacted directly and invited to the AGM.