Forestry, Trees & Hedgerows
Hedgerows & Field Boundaries
Measured in metres, paid in metres, evidenced in metres.
Hedgerows are among the most reliably funded actions in every UK scheme and among the most poorly recorded. This module measures and classifies every metre of boundary, plans a cutting rotation that satisfies both the regulatory cutting ban and the scheme action requirements, and captures the evidence that turns hedgerow management into scheme income and biodiversity units.
- 12 capabilities
- 5 linked schemes
- Offline capable
- 12
- Capabilities in this module
- 5
- Interactive tools
- 5
- Linked support schemes
- 4
- Data integrations
- 5
- Measures reported
The ground reality
What is actually happening in hedgerows in the UK
Hedgerow management, hedgerow trees and hedgerow assessment carry payment rates in the English, Welsh, Scottish and Northern Irish offers, and hedgerow condition contributes to biodiversity metrics used in Biodiversity Net Gain. Statutory cutting restrictions apply through the bird nesting season, with defined exemptions, and non-compliance is one of the more commonly recorded inspection findings.
Figures are as published at the time of writing. Farm policy and payment rates change frequently — verify against the primary source before relying on any number here.
In the field
Hedgerows, as it actually looks
Photography from working UK holdings alongside the interface that records it. Every frame below is a commissioned slot: the brief is stated until the photograph is taken.
Hedgerows — a walkthrough
A working pass through hedgerows: entering the record once, and watching it appear in the evidence pack, the calendar and the scheme application without being typed again.
- 0:00 What the module is for
- 0:48 Entering the record
- 2:05 Where it appears next
- 3:20 The evidence pack
Photography slots state their own brief until the shot is commissioned, so the layout never shifts when real images arrive.
Capabilities
What Hedgerows does
Every capability below is built on the same underlying record, so entering something once is enough for it to appear wherever it is needed.
Record and plan
- Boundary survey with hedgerow, wall, fence and ditch classification
- Metre-accurate measurement from mapping with field verification
- Hedgerow condition assessment against the recognised structural criteria
Operate and monitor
- Cutting rotation planner respecting the statutory ban and scheme requirements
- Hedgerow tree identification, tagging and management
- Gapping up, laying and coppicing programme with cost modelling
Comply and evidence
- Scheme action mapping across all four nations with rate and cap enforcement
- Biodiversity metric contribution from hedgerow condition and length
- Dry stone wall condition and rebuild programme management
Analyse and improve
- Historic and archaeological boundary feature protection
- Photographic evidence at fixed points with season-matched comparison
- Contractor instruction and completion verification
Interactive
Tools you actually use, not screens you read
These are working interfaces inside the module — maps, calculators, planners and dashboards that respond to your own holding data.
Boundary map with metre totals by type and by condition
Boundary map with metre totals by type and by condition
MapCutting rotation calendar with statutory ban overlay
Cutting rotation calendar with statutory ban overlay
ToolHedgerow income calculator across every applicable scheme action
Hedgerow income calculator across every applicable scheme action
CalculatorCondition assessment wizard following the structural criteria
Condition assessment wizard following the structural criteria
WizardLaying and gapping cost estimator per metre
Laying and gapping cost estimator per metre
ToolEnd to end
How Hedgerows runs, start to finish
The module is modelled as a state machine, so at any point the business knows exactly which stage every record is at and what has to happen next.
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1
Survey and classify all boundaries
This is where the record starts, and getting it right here removes work at every later stage.
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2
Measure and verify lengths
The platform prompts only for what this stage genuinely needs, and carries everything forward.
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3
Assess condition
Conflicts with scheme rules, regulatory windows and existing commitments are flagged here rather than discovered later.
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4
Plan the cutting and management rotation
Capture works offline, so this stage is completed in the field rather than remembered afterwards.
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5
Map to scheme actions and check caps
Everything recorded at this point becomes evidence automatically, in every format that will later ask for it.
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6
Instruct and carry out the work
This is the stage most businesses currently do twice, once for the operation and once for the paperwork.
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7
Capture evidence at fixed points
Results feed the whole-farm view, so the effect of this stage is visible against the rest of the business.
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8
Claim and reconcile
The cycle closes here, and what is learned is carried into next season's plan rather than lost.
Who uses it
Built around four real jobs, not one generic user
Each of these people needs something different from the same record. The module is designed so none of them has to work around the others.
Mixed farmer
14 km of hedgerow
Needs to know exactly how many metres are claimable and under which action.
Contractor
Hedge cutting and laying
Needs clear, mapped instruction and completion evidence.
Scheme adviser
Agreement preparation
Needs accurate boundary measurement to build a claim on.
BNG assessor
Baseline and uplift assessment
Needs condition-scored hedgerow length for the metric.
Schemes and funding
Support schemes this module works with
Agrivencia holds these schemes as data, so eligibility, payment rates, caps and windows update the day they change rather than at the next software release.
Sustainable Farming Incentive 2026
Pay farmers for environmental actions taken alongside food production, as the principal replacement for area-based direct payments in England.
Defra / Rural Payments Agency EnglandCountryside Stewardship
Fund more complex, targeted and bespoke habitat management than the main incentive offer supports.
Defra / Natural England / Rural Payments Agency EnglandEnvironmental Land Management Capital Grants
Fund capital works supporting environmental outcomes — boundaries, water, air quality, natural flood management and infrastructure.
Defra / Rural Payments Agency WalesSustainable Farming Scheme
Replace area-based direct payments in Wales with a scheme rewarding sustainable land management outcomes.
Welsh Government / Rural Payments Wales Northern IrelandEnvironmental Farming Scheme
Fund environmental land management across higher, wider and group levels in Northern Ireland.
DAERARates, caps and windows change frequently and sometimes without notice. Always confirm against the current published scheme rules before applying.
Measurement
How you will know it is working
The module reports against these measures from the day it is switched on, so the value is demonstrable rather than assumed.
- 01Metres surveyed and classified
- 02Metres under scheme management
- 03Condition score improvement
- 04Income per kilometre
- 05Cutting ban compliance rate
Try it now
Hedgerow Income Calculator
Every metre of boundary, mapped to every scheme action that could pay for it, in your nation.
How this is calculated
Eligible length is adjusted where a hedgerow is managed on both sides and both sides are claimable. Payment rates for each applicable action in your nation are applied to the eligible length and tree count.
Rates and action availability differ by nation and change between scheme years. Confirm the current published rates before claiming.
Payment schedule
What is due, and when it lands
Farm support arrives in instalments from several bodies on different calendars. Set against your own overdraft, the question is not how much but when — so the ledger is ordered by date, not by scheme.
| When | Payment | From | Amount | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June | Sustainable Farming Incentive 2026 | Defra / Rural Payments Agency | — | Expected |
| March | Countryside Stewardship | Defra / Natural England / Rural Payments Agency | — | Agreed |
| June | Environmental Land Management Capital Grants | Defra / Rural Payments Agency | — | Eligible |
| May | Sustainable Farming Scheme | Welsh Government / Rural Payments Wales | — | Eligible |
| March | Environmental Farming Scheme | DAERA | — | Eligible |
| December | Farming Equipment and Technology Fund | Defra / Rural Payments Agency | — | Eligible |
- — Agreed and scheduled
- — Claimed, awaiting payment
- — Eligible, unclaimed
What the statuses mean
- Agreed
- Under a signed agreement with a scheduled payment date.
- Expected
- Claimed and assessed; payment date per the published standard.
- Eligible
- Your holding appears to qualify but nothing is claimed yet.
Obligation calendar
What hedgerows asks of you, and when
Windows, deadlines and recurring obligations for England. Set a different nation and the calendar reconfigures; farm across a border and it shows both, reconciled.
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April 2 entries
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15 April: Plan the cutting and management rotation
A recurring step in hedgerows.
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22 April: Measure and verify lengths
A recurring step in hedgerows.
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May 2 entries
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14 May: Environmental Farming Scheme
Round-based.
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26 May: Sustainable Farming Scheme
Scheme year runs to 31 December, with the single application form deadline in mid-May.
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June 3 entries
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4 June: Survey and classify all boundaries
A recurring step in hedgerows.
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5 June: Farming Transformation Fund
Round-based by theme.
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15 June: Sustainable Farming Incentive 2026
Two windows in 2026: window one from 30 June, window two from September.
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July 3 entries
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3 July: Assess condition
A recurring step in hedgerows.
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14 July: Slurry Infrastructure Grant
Round-based.
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17 July: Water Management Grant
Round-based.
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October 1 entry
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5 October: Farming Equipment and Technology Fund
Round-based, usually open for a defined application period.
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November 2 entries
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12 November: Improving Farm Productivity Grant
Round-based.
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27 November: Environmental Land Management Capital Grants
Round-based, with rapid allocation once open.
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December 1 entry
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26 December: Countryside Stewardship
Rolling and round-based depending on the tier and option group.
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Questions answered
What people ask about Hedgerows
Does this replace the software I already use?
Not necessarily. Agrivencia integrates with authoritative sources and mainstream packages rather than insisting on replacing them. Where an incumbent does one job well, the platform connects to it; where the job spans several systems and nobody does it, the platform does it.
Will it work where I have no signal?
Yes. Field capture in Hedgerows is offline first, storing locally and synchronising when a connection returns. Only around a fifth of UK farms report reliable signal across the whole holding, so this is a design assumption rather than a feature.
What happens when the scheme rules change?
Scheme rules are held as data rather than code, so a rate change, a cap change or a window closure is a content update that takes effect the same day. The platform also alerts you to what the change does to your own position.
Who owns the data I put in?
You do. The Farm Data Charter gives you a complete export in open formats at any time, and every instance of data sharing requires an explicit, revocable consent that is visible in your account.
Does it work if I farm across a border?
Yes, and that is one of the main reasons the platform exists. A business with land in more than one nation sees one reconciled view rather than two portals, with obligations and deadlines from both administrations in a single calendar.
Can my agronomist or land agent use it too?
Yes. You grant scoped, time-limited access per holding and per module, and you can revoke it in one click. Advisers never get a shared password or a blanket view.
What is the biggest limitation of this module?
Cutting ban breach. Mitigated by calendar enforcement and contractor instruction. We would rather state that plainly than let you discover it after signing.
Documents
Take it away with you
Everything here is printable and works on a kitchen table with no signal. Where a document asks for an email address, it says so on the button rather than after you press it.
Every Metre Counts: Hedgerow Measurement, Management and Scheme Income
The practical handbook for hedgerows: what the rules require, what the evidence has to show, and the mistakes that cost people money.
hedgerows — evidence checklist
Every document an audit or a claim asks for, in the order it is asked for, with the validity period of each.
hedgerows — record template
The record structure the module uses, as a spreadsheet, so a business not yet on the platform can start keeping it correctly today.
Data model reference
Entities, fields and integration points for hedgerows, for advisers and software partners.
See Hedgerows running on your own holding
Thirty minutes, using your parcels, your schemes and your enterprises rather than a sample farm. No obligation and no sales script — if it does not fit your business we will say so.
- Free tier available
- No card required
- Your data stays yours