Hedgerow Week 2019, organised by Teagasc, is set to kick off next Monday, October 21, with an official launch to be held in Teagasc Kildalton College, Piltown, Co. Kilkenny, that day.

According to Teagasc, the five-day initiative (Monday to Friday of next week) is aiming to “celebrate good practice in hedgerow management; to educate everyone about the benefits of hedgerows; best practice around hedgerow cutting; and the consequences if hedge-cutting is not done correctly”.

Andrew Doyle, Minister of State for Food, Forestry and Horticulture, will attend the 10:00am launch next Monday, which will kick off a series of events until Friday.

Monday’s launch will also feature a live hedge-cutting demonstration.

Tuesday, October 22, will see Teagasc representatives engaging with schools and Tidy Towns.

The three schools who will take part are based in Co. Waterford, where Teagasc personnel will aim to promote the “importance of hedgerows and the environment” to the students there.

That same day, Teagasc will deliver a talk for the Kilkenny Tidy Towns Forum 2019 in the Newpark Hotel, Castlecomer Road, Kilkenny, at 7:30pm.

On Wednesday, October 23, Salesian Agricultural College, Palleskenry, Co. Limerick, will host a hedge-cutting event at 11:00am, to which contractors, farmers and the general public are invited.

This will include a workshop led by industry stakeholders and a working demonstration of hedge-cutting – carried out by a local contractor – with a range of cutting equipment on display.

After a break from the hedge-cutting on Thursday, another live demonstration will feature at a Teagasc Tipperary Sustainability Farm Walk on Friday, October 25.

This will take place on the farm of Michéal Kelly, Ballyvaughan, Clonmel, Co. Tipperary (eircode: E91 D275), at 11:00am, with another contractor overseeing this demonstration.

As well as all that, Teagasc is running a competition “to identify best practice in hedgerow cutting”.

You can nominate yourself or a contractor for the chance to win €1,000, which will be split between the farmer and contractor.

For more information on Teagasc Hedgerow Week 2019 click here