I have got to windge about farmers and when they cut their hedges!

I do a bit of cycling and have noticed over the past few years, rather than cut their hedges at the end of the season in the autumn, farmers seem to crop them all year round now, and somewhat messily too! I came across a hedgecutter last weekend doing this locally.

It's not that I mind them doing it its just that the 'brushings'always seem to puncture my bike. I was under the impression that they have to clear up also after cutting the hedges this doesnt seem to happen.

My message to farmers would be to be a bit more courteous and cut them at the end of the season rather than sporadically throughout the year ?

It's not that fixing a puncture is a difficult job, it's just that it feels like a complete waste of time and, almost invariably, it happens when I've forgotten to put the repair kit in my bag, so I have to walk home.

Not sure what we can do about this all though. Hedges need to be cut, after all, and I suppose that, in the wider scheme of things, the main thing is to avoid cutting while birds are nesting.

Someone I know got so fed up with having to dodge thorns and other hedge cuttings while cycling that they went out with a broom to sweep up a half mile length of path/pavement about a week ago.

Where was the hedgecutter that you came across, if you don't mind me asking?

BTW thanks for finally knocking my post about Meres and Mosses Month off the top of this section; it was getting embarrassing!

The reason I asked about hedges is that I am concerened not only about my bike but wildlife. I live in rural North Shropshire and love it! Some robins are nesting close to my house in a hedge, coincidentally. I have told the farmer who seemed not very concerned, but still see hedge cutting going on at different times of the year to this day. I am a country person and whilst we are on the subject, I have seen the decline in lots of wildlife due to modern farming techniques. The curlew, peewit seem to be in decline locally. A welcome and amazingly atrractive bird of prey the buzzard has made a comeback and daily about 500 metres they can be seen hunting.

Numbers of breeding peewit have fallen by 75% in Shropshire in the last 15 years. It's appalling really, particularly since 15 years ago (i.e. 1992) concern about wildlife was hardly unheard of.

See what Shropshire Wildife Trust are doing.

now i have to say that i dont think farmers are actually legally obliged to cut their hedges and if they didnt there would be alot more moaning as we wouldnt be able to see round bends etc on small country roads causing more accidents.
but i also see your point on the punctures.
i think actually that defra have changed some policies on this as i believe that they are making farmers cut around their fields at different times of the year to encourage wildlife.
by this what i mean is that where they have a field, especcially if it has a bridle way or walk way around it they are not allowed to cut those hedges (inside the field-not sure about around the roads) until certain times of the year to encourage wildlife.
i live in south shropshire and i have to say our hedges arent cut that often, so i dont know about that.

It's easy to take hedges for granted living here but in most parts of the world you will hardly ever see a hedge, does anybody know why they are such a feature of the landscape here compared to elsewhere?

maybe of some interest:

http://www.leics.gov.uk/index/community/mu...row_history.htm

s.g.d.