Hedge cutting rules changed

Farmers will be able to cut hedges in August ahead of sowing oilseed rape or grass thanks to a change in rules.

The amendment to the Good Agricultural and Environmental Condition (GAEC) regulations only apply to these crops although the exemption can be extended to fields being sown with other crops during August, but only with the prior written permission of the Scottish Government Rural Payments Inspections Division (RPID).

A second amendment has provided further clarity to the exemption which allows farmers to trim hedges or lop branches off trees for reasons “necessary for the purpose of road safety”.

This exemption has been broadened and defined as where a tree or hedge “overhangs a road, surfaced track or footpath to which the public have access so as to endanger or obstruct the passage of vehicles, pedestrians or horse riders; or if it obstructs or interferes with the view of drivers of vehicles or the light from a public lamp”.

NFU Scotland’s combinable crops committee chairman, Ian Sands, said: “The changes to these regulations will allow for normal hedge maintenance to take place which otherwise would be delayed, and prevent the damage to valuable sown oilseed rape and new grass.

“Crops such as oilseed rape and grass which should be sown during August were repeatedly damaged by the restrictions placed on hedge cutting in August and this rule change will be greatly appreciated by farmers who can now properly maintain hedgerows without damaging valuable crops.”