Old Hedgerows are New Again as More Farmers Embrace Benefits (old video in body text)
Old Hedgerows are New Again as More Farmers Embrace Benefits (old video in body text)
For centuries, hedgerows defined the boundaries of agriculture. A hedgerow can be made up of any densely planted growth bordering a field that is
Some midwestern fields are still bordered by hedgerows, but most US farmers don't plant hedgerows and are skeptical of their benefits, worrying that they might introduce pests or predators to their farmland.
North American farmers are also loath to reduce the size of their crop-producing land by adding a living border or to deal with potential difficulties when the hedgerows require maintenance.
Even in the United Kingdom, hedgerows experienced a downturn in popularity as farmers moved towards more heavy equipment for working their fields and maintaining their boundaries.
While US farmers have been slower to embrace hedgerows for their ecological benefits, the science of hedgerows as natural havens has become inarguable.
A farmer looking to embrace the benefits of hedgerows as field boundaries first has to identify what kind of boundary they need.
https://inv.vern.cc/watch?v=WoprVhpOKIk - Hedging (1942)