Mitchelstown man Tony Mullins has got the hege-cutting skills down to a tee!
The Ballybeg dairy farmer was announced as joint winner of the Teagasc Hedge Cutting Competition alongside Liam Herlihy of Bruree, Co Limerick marking Teagasc Hedgerow Week 2020 last week.
Aesthetics and biodiversity both underpin Tony s approach to the business of trimming the verges, he said on accepting the prize this week.
Farming with his wife Noelle, they avail of the Nitrates Derogation and rear all calves to beef and dairy replacements. Tony likes hedges on the farm and has always had a keen interest in managing his own hedges. The Mullins family regard hedges as a great source of shelter for animals and for the birds, as well as a food source and nesting habitat for birds and small mammals that live in the hedges.
Teagasc announce winners of Hedge Cutting Competition
Teagasc Hedgerow Week 2020 continues throughout this week highlighting all aspects of hedgerow management. As part of this year’s hedgerow week, the joint winners of the Teagasc Hedge Cutting Competition for 2019 have been announced. They are Liam Herlihy, Kingsland, Bruree, Co Limerick and Tony Mullins, Ballybeg, Mitchelstown, County Cork.
Hedge cutting contractor Liam Herlihy, Kingsland, Bruree, County Limerick changed his hedge cutting practice last year. For the sake of the birds and the environment, he changed from cutting the hedges as a flat top to an ‘A roof’, resulting in better and thicker hedges. Liam said: “It is actually easier and faster to cut the hedge as a slope because you can run your machine at 45 degree angle on both sides and move on. When you’re cutting hedges flat-topped, you have to cut them and go over them two or three times to get them nice and level”.