Talking hedges with local New Forest landowners Tim and Mary Stevenson

At CPRE Hampshire, we partner with local landowners to rejuvenate and plant hedgerows, while also sharing valuable tips on effective management.

Recently, Yolande, our Hedgerow Project Assistant, had the opportunity to speak with Tim and Mary, who shared insights into the challenges many farmers face. We understand that managing hedgerows can be particularly tough for landowners amidst the myriads of other responsibilities they juggle. However, with our support, we’re helping their hedgerows to flourish.

Yolande: “Please start by introducing yourselves and the lovely farm you run.”

Tim: “My family have been here since 1969. They had some cattle, buying in calves from Salisbury market, putting them out on the grass, and so on. In 1976 my mother started a pedigree Dexter herd, with the help of Judy Knight, from Sway. So that’s where the Dexter herd started, and my mother was very successful; she did a bit of showing and she had a very good reputation. When my parents died in 2022, I took the whole farm on, and I’ve had the herd since. We’ve also been a very successful breeder over the years, mainly thanks to the help of people like Mike Kemmish and Peter Dennis, who looked after the herd until Mike retired. We’ve had as many as 48 cattle. When we took on the farm, we spent some money on the cattle shed and generally just making things a little easier to manage; improving fences and so on, which were a little run down. But it was a lot of hard work. I was working out 4 days a week, 1 day from home, and spending both weekend days trying to do as much as I could, with the help of Mary. Also, with the help of Mike, of course, who is a very knowledgeable man. He’s great at fixing things with a real can-do attitude.”

Mary: “It was just the two of us for some while, though, at the start. And that’s when we started planting hedges. I was working part-time on the farm while looking after my parents.”

Yolande: “So when you took over the farm from your parents, that’s when you started putting hedges in?”

Tim: “Yes, well we started patching up old hedges and putting in new ones. There was a thing called the Countryside Stewardship Scheme, which could be quite restrictive on what you were allowed to do but we managed to survive off the Countryside Stewardship Scheme for 10 years. The payment you got for putting in hedges was nowhere near enough for the workload of doing it, and the cost of doing it. So, we did a bit, and it worked extremely well, the impact was fantastic.”

Yolande: “What was the impact?”

Tim: “Well the hedges grew so well, and they thickened up so beautifully. And I’d like to think that a lot of wildlife sheltered in there. And they were fenced on both sides as well, where necessary.”

Yolande: “So your cattle couldn’t graze them when they were establishing?”

Tim: “Yes, and the deer as well, because we have a lot of deer here. There’s a regular herd of 15 or 20 Fallow.”

Mary: “But we didn’t used to have them, deer. This is the other extraordinary thing, the way the forest has changed. You didn’t see Fallow here originally, then they started getting them over the road, and then about 10 years ago they started coming in here.”

Tim: “We’ve started to try and fence them out where we can. But we can’t do it everywhere. We’re doing it more and more, when we spot where they’re coming in from. One place is up beyond where we’re planting now. If we don’t get it done, they can destroy all the new hedge planting. But right now, it’s too wet to get the machinery up to install the fence.”

Yolande: “Yes, it’s tricky. Going back to hedges for a moment. Why did you put them in? Was it from a livestock management perspective, or aesthetic, or for wildlife?”

Tim: “It’s not so much the setting, possibly apart from the little bit of beech hedge at the garden border. Down the field it was just because it was an ideal spot to do it, from a wildlife point of view it was fantastic to have a hedge down there. We put in a couple of trees as well.”

Yolande: “Is that the hedge which is being laid at the moment?”

Tim: “Yes that’s the one being laid now. And it looks terrific, and I think it’ll be great once it’s done, knowing it’s got that extra life. The talk you organised by Megan (Megan Gimber, People’s Trust for Endangered Species) was fantastic. It made me aware of the canopy rising because of over-flailing, and if you can get away from flailing so much, that’s great. But when we put those hedges in, it was because it would be lovely for wildlife, and it’s true, they are full of birds’ nests in spring. The cattle lie in the lee of them on a hot day for shade, and on a windy day they’ll lie out of the wind on the other side of it. So, the cattle certainly like them.”

Mary: “I think that was in the back of our minds as well, that it would make it better for the cattle when they were out in extreme weather. Because not all the fields had big trees for them to shelter under, whereas if they could tuck into the hedge, which they do, that would be great. But you try looking for black cattle on a darkish night, when they’re all tucked up under the hedge!”

Yolande: “I can imagine that’s really difficult!”

Mary: “Yes! Very.”

Yolande: “Well it’s lovely to hear that your intention initially was to help your livestock. I think sometimes there can be this black and white view of countryside management that it’s either done to benefit wildlife, or to benefit agriculture and there’s not always the perception that it can do both – which it can.”

Mary: “Well yes, I remember when they were decimating the hedges in East Anglia. My father wasn’t a farmer, but he was a countryman, and he used to get so angry. Then they found by removing the hedges, the topsoil was blowing away. I think it’s always been at the back of my mind that farms should have hedges for all sorts of reasons. I’m just so excited by what’s happening with CPRE and the planting of more hedges.”

Tim: “It’ll be nice to have better shelter from those cold east winds which blow across. It’ll soak up more water too.”

Yolande: “So, moving on to your work with CPRE, how did you hear about us?”

Tim: “It was a friend, Steve Creasy, who volunteers with you and does a lot of planting. He said “Tim, do you have any hedges that you want planted?”. And I said, “Well actually, if somebody wants to plant some hedges then fantastic”, and he put me in touch with Ellie (CPRE Hampshire Hedgerow Project Manager). Ellie came round and talked to me, and I said I would love to put hedges in, but I just can’t afford to do that myself. It’s a lot of work, too. I don’t mind doing the labour and the hard work, but there’s a limit when there’s only one person to do it.”

Mary: “It’s all very well planting the hedges and getting that done free but getting to the stage where it’s a proper hedge, there’s a huge cost to keep them cut. You need a specialist contractor to cut the hedges, on a small farm, because you can’t afford the equipment yourself. And I think that must come into the melting pot. On the big estates that’s fine, because they’ve got the workforce, they’ve got the implements, and that sort of thing. They can mix and match, and maybe an extra day of hedge cutting is absorbed into the budget, but for someone our size, of 100 acres or something, it’s a big impact.”

Yolande: “Do you have any suggestions, as small landowners, how that can be addressed? If that’s the thing stopping landowners from wanting hedges, what needs to happen for them to say “Yes, we’re going to have more hedges!”?”

Tim: “The easy way round it is funding. And, it’s having access to a workforce to help. That’s been fantastic, working with CPRE Hampshire. The volunteers that have turned up here, have not only been a really nice bunch of people, but they’re willing, helpful, and respectful. I think what CPRE is doing is a really good initiative. I think it’s outstanding.”

Yolande: “Having worked with us to plant hedges on your land, and having been to some of our events, such as the Hedgerow Management Walk and Talk with Megan Gimber. Do you think how you’re going to manage your hedges has changed?”

Tim: “It’s a really good question and the answer is yes, definitely. My perception of our hedges has changed. I’d love to think that in 10, 12 years’ time, that new hedge will be laid – it would be fantastic to do it. And I also agree about over flailing, I understand that far better now. You can see the evidence of it, in our own hedges here, that they’ve been over flailed. When Megan came round and we did the Walk and Talk, you could see the good, the bad, and the ugly on the farm. I see how much more we could do. So yes, I definitely see it, but I think “how much can I actually do”, and that’s trickier, because of the machinery I’ve got. I’ve got a handheld hedge cutter, but that’s not the machine we need. I don’t have a flail, but I think the idea of telling hedge contractors not to flail the top of the hedge, only do the sides, is a very good idea, and I’d like to do that to encourage better growth. I also have a couple hedges, which appear to have been lay about 60, 70, 80 years ago, which are overstood and need to be coppiced, gaps planted up, and it would be lovely to do that.”

Yolande: “My last question for you is, would you recommend working with us to other landowners?”

Tim: “I think you have been absolutely fantastic. I think you’ve been genuinely superb; I really do. It’s been smooth, it’s been reliable, as I said, the volunteers are great. I’ve really enjoyed doing it and I would thoroughly recommend it. It’s been a pleasure having you round.”

If you’ve been inspired by our conversation with Tim and Mary, and would like to learn more, please check out our talk by Megan Gimber on hedges and hedge management, as referenced by Tim.