Maximise the value of your field boundaries

01 February 2019

Field margin Saya Harvey farm East Midlands

Hedges, ditches and walls are important for wildlife. Making the most of these features is a simple way to help wildlife without affecting your farm business.

  • Trimming hedges (within permitted dates) and managing ditches on a two to three year rotation boosts flowers, fruit and refuges for wildlife, and saves you time and money compared with trimming and clearing every year. This approach is most suited to thorn‑dominated hedges and ditches where rotational management will not compromise field drainage.
  • Plant a wide range of hedgerow trees to maintain or restore former numbers in the landscape.
  • Avoid inputs drifting into field boundaries and keep an uncultivated buffer strip if the field is re‑seeded or cropped.
  • Fence off hedgerows to allow a dense base to develop. Rather than tightly following the curves of a hedge, consider fencing longer straight runs. This uses fewer posts and allows some rough grass to grow where the fence is further from the hedge.

Further guidance:


Ask us a question about this page

Once you have submitted your query someone from the team will contact you. If needed, your query will then be passed to the appropriate NFU policy team.

The information you provide will be used for the purpose of recording and responding to your query. It will be processed in accordance with the provisions of UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018 and the NFU's Privacy Notice.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.