Hedgerow Trees – Get prepared for the Sustainable Farming Incentive
While the hedgerow standard isn’t being introduced until 2024 current guidance on likely standards includes information on hedgerow trees – and we have a lot of these in our local area!
Payments and hedgerows trees required for 3 standards
| Standard | Payment £ / 100m of hedge / year | Number of hedgerow trees required |
| Introductory | 19 | 1 every 400m |
| Intermediate | 25 | 1 every 200m |
| Advanced | 28 | 1 every 100m |
The trees do not have to be evenly distributed across the hedgerows. To achieve the standard you have to maintain existing trees and if necessary plant or tag new ones to achieve this. When counting how many trees are in a given length, you can include dead and dying mature trees.
Trees can be any broadleaved, native species e.g. Oak, Ash, Field Maple, Crab Apple and Willow and shrubs such as Holly and Hawthorn.
When selecting existing saplings to tag, choose undamaged stems that are growing straight up all the way from the base. These should produce a good, strong trunk and a better future hedgerow tree. When tagging or planting a new hedgerow tree choose a space at least 20m from an existing mature tree so that it is not competing for shade.
Label the trees with brightly coloured tags, so anyone trimming or flailing is aware that there are protected trees within the boundary.