We like hedges, lots of other people like hedges and wild birds particularly love a good, chunky hedge with lots of cover for spring nesting and berries for winter nosh. But to suggest, as Radio 4 did yesterday, that a nice hedge is needed to justify crop production is nonsense. The claim was construed from a report from the Royal Agricultural Society, which said that heavy machinery, dry summers and changing growing seasons had left England's soil in bad shape. According to the BBC, the report also said that research into soil had lost out to study of the environment. It was noticeable that Professor Dick Godwin, author of the report, did not say this in his Today Programme interview. Wildlife has been disappearing from farmland for about 50 years. New figures from Defra, due next week, will show whether some birds are declining even quicker than we thought. The loss of set-aside and delay in replicating its wildlife benefits will only make matters worse. The RSPB has thoroughly researched wildlife losses and has offered numerous sturdy proposals for boosting up the populations of farmland birds. Some suggestions have been adopted but others, even some of the simplest, are being taken up too slowly. Skylark plots are one example. These 4x4 metre scrapes, left free of crop seed but otherwise treated like the field they're in, need only the press of a tractor button to get them established. They need no maintenance, the effect on harvest is negligible and farmers are even paid to put them in their fields, yet only a handful have done so. If more farmers took the cash available for green farming and soil conservation – farmers can be paid for ploughing less on steep slopes - wildlife would be doing much better with no sacrifice by farmers, healthier soil and more money in the pot to boot. Hedges are good and so are skylark plots, ponds, wild flowers and narrow earth banks where insects can roam. But none are responsible for the condition of farmland soil. Do more research by all means, but don’t blame the birds and bees for the condition the soil is currently in.
Acording to DEFRA
Hedgerows play an important role on farms; helping to prevent soil erosion and water run-off, providing shelter, controling livestock and protecting crops from the wind. They also provide an important habitat for wildlife and are often seen as defining character of the English landscape
http://www.defra.gov.uk/farm/environment/landscape/hedgerows.htm
How could Radio 4 get there information so badly wrong