hello - not sure if it's just a Nottinghamshire thing, but this year there seems to have been a lot of hedge cutting along country roads. More so than normal. Has anyone else noticed in other areas?
Are the hedges being cut by the council or the landowner? If it's country roads, it may well be the latter.
This is the proper time of year for hedgecutting around farm land - farmers are not allowed to do it during what the Powers that Be call "flowering and fruiting times", so this is the time of year you'll see it happening. If there's a very overgrown hedge which is deemed to be affecting the traffic, the council can step in and do it - they may charge the landowner for this.
If hedges have been properly maintained - and you're not supposed to cut both sides in the same year - the use of a flail hedgecutter is fine - a good contractor will take the trouble to make several cuts - each taking a little at a time, so that there are only small pieces of twigs etc taken off at any one "go". For example, I get the hedge around my land cut by a local contractor who does a really good job, leaving the hedge wider at the bottom, and taking a lot of trouble to see that the debris consists of small pieces. I can tell which of the other people round here use him - the hedges look fine.
On the other hand, the person who owns land adjacent to mine has not cut the hedges for 10 years. This had led to the sort of overgrowth which means that the farm tractors/trailers go off the tarmac surface and on to the verges, causing the tarmac at the edges to crumble away. The local council were told about this and all they did was repair the tarmac (badly) with the result that it hasn't lasted - the hedges have grown even more, and the verges are badly damaged and a sea of mud. For some reason they haven't tackled the landowner about this, which is surprising as they did contact another person I know and told him to see to his hedges - or else!........
They have been butchering them around here, much heavier cutting than usual. A neighbour remarked to me in the summer how hard they were hitting the hedges locally. He is an ex-farmer and seemed quite surprised about it.
Not allowed to do it after end of March. Or before the end of July to allow the birds to nest. I'd rather they did it now than in the Autumn when they cut off all the winter food for the birds.
One good result of 'Austerity' is that they only cut the banks once this year.
Organic farmers are only allowed to cut the hedges once every two years.
Is a flail one of those big arms they fit to the tractor?
Its a mix of farmers hedges and council ones. It's really noticeable just how much of a chop they seem to be getting. Lots of chopped and exposed thick branches. Even seems to be done in places its just been left for years.
i too thought it may have been austerity driven in that over the last few years money has been tight and it would have been an easy cut to make, but now the economy is, supposedly, on the mend the contractors are being paid to tidy up.
Yes, it's one of those. It can reach over the hedge and cut both sides if necessary, as well - of course - as doing the top! There are problems if there's anything in the way - e.g. trees along the hedgerow or things like telephone poles, which is why you'll see growth still close to these. Most farmers these days don't have the specialised equipment for things like hedge-cutting or combine harvesting, so these are usually done by contractors who are often chaps from farming families anyway & who've set up a business when they themselves don't actually have land to farm - e.g. younger sons or those who are more interested in machinery than animals.
I agree the standard of cutting edges is a bit hit and miss which is a shame because if done properly can enhance the environment , however , I understand time is money and that's what seems to count these days
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Are the hedges being cut by the council or the landowner? If it's country roads, it may well be the latter.
This is the proper time of year for hedgecutting around farm land - farmers are not allowed to do it during what the Powers that Be call "flowering and fruiting times", so this is the time of year you'll see it happening. If there's a very overgrown hedge which is deemed to be affecting the traffic, the council can step in and do it - they may charge the landowner for this.
If hedges have been properly maintained - and you're not supposed to cut both sides in the same year - the use of a flail hedgecutter is fine - a good contractor will take the trouble to make several cuts - each taking a little at a time, so that there are only small pieces of twigs etc taken off at any one "go". For example, I get the hedge around my land cut by a local contractor who does a really good job, leaving the hedge wider at the bottom, and taking a lot of trouble to see that the debris consists of small pieces. I can tell which of the other people round here use him - the hedges look fine.
On the other hand, the person who owns land adjacent to mine has not cut the hedges for 10 years. This had led to the sort of overgrowth which means that the farm tractors/trailers go off the tarmac surface and on to the verges, causing the tarmac at the edges to crumble away. The local council were told about this and all they did was repair the tarmac (badly) with the result that it hasn't lasted - the hedges have grown even more, and the verges are badly damaged and a sea of mud. For some reason they haven't tackled the landowner about this, which is surprising as they did contact another person I know and told him to see to his hedges - or else!........
Much the same massacre as usual round here
In the sticks near Peterborough
They have been butchering them around here, much heavier cutting than usual. A neighbour remarked to me in the summer how hard they were hitting the hedges locally. He is an ex-farmer and seemed quite surprised about it.
One good result of 'Austerity' is that they only cut the banks once this year.
Organic farmers are only allowed to cut the hedges once every two years.
Is a flail one of those big arms they fit to the tractor?
Its a mix of farmers hedges and council ones. It's really noticeable just how much of a chop they seem to be getting. Lots of chopped and exposed thick branches. Even seems to be done in places its just been left for years.
i too thought it may have been austerity driven in that over the last few years money has been tight and it would have been an easy cut to make, but now the economy is, supposedly, on the mend the contractors are being paid to tidy up.
Yes, it's one of those. It can reach over the hedge and cut both sides if necessary, as well - of course - as doing the top! There are problems if there's anything in the way - e.g. trees along the hedgerow or things like telephone poles, which is why you'll see growth still close to these. Most farmers these days don't have the specialised equipment for things like hedge-cutting or combine harvesting, so these are usually done by contractors who are often chaps from farming families anyway & who've set up a business when they themselves don't actually have land to farm - e.g. younger sons or those who are more interested in machinery than animals.
I agree the standard of cutting edges is a bit hit and miss which is a shame because if done properly can enhance the environment , however , I understand time is money and that's what seems to count these days