Hedgerows & Field Boundaries
Hedgerows: How It Works
The end-to-end sequence, stage by stage, with nothing skipped.
The module is modelled as an explicit state machine with 8 stages. Every record knows which stage it is at, what has to happen to move on, and what is blocking it if it cannot. 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.
End 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.
Sequence
The order things happen in
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Stage 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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Stage 2
Measure and verify lengths
The platform prompts only for what this stage genuinely needs, and carries everything forward.
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Stage 3
Assess condition
Conflicts with scheme rules, regulatory windows and existing commitments are flagged here rather than discovered later.
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Stage 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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Stage 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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Stage 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.
Before you start
What you will need, and what the module handles for you
Most of this comes across automatically once your holding is registered. The list is here so nothing arrives as a surprise.
In practice
Six things Hedgerows changes on day one
None of these requires a new process. They all come from recording the work you already do, once, in a form the rest of the platform can use.
Boundary survey with hedgerow, wall
Boundary survey with hedgerow, wall, fence and ditch classification.
Metre-accurate measurement from mapping with
Metre-accurate measurement from mapping with field verification.
Hedgerow condition assessment against the
Hedgerow condition assessment against the recognised structural criteria.
Cutting rotation planner respecting the
Cutting rotation planner respecting the statutory ban and scheme requirements.
Hedgerow tree identification, tagging and
Hedgerow tree identification, tagging and management.
Gapping up, laying and coppicing
Gapping up, laying and coppicing programme with cost modelling.
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.
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.
What we are hearing
The problems people describe to us
These are composite statements drawn from user research conversations, not attributed customer quotes. We publish named references only with written consent.
I am not short of software. I am short of one place where the same field means the same thing in all of it.
The scheme closed on a Tuesday evening. I had the application half built. Nobody told me the budget was nearly gone.
We farm on both sides of the border. Everything takes twice as long and I still cannot see the whole position on one screen.
Audit week costs me three days. Every single record they ask for is already written down somewhere on this farm.
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