Having questioned the way agricultural hedges are cut, which
Having experienced this on our farm for years, I thought there had to be a better way
A criteria was set to
Thus converting what was a completely non-productive and costly operation into an operation that produces a valuable crop of Biomass
Based on these criteria, numerous cutting options were evaluated based on
Having carried out numerous small-scale trials with a short list of cutting options and evaluated the results the optimum cutting design was chosen, which easily met the initial criteria
The chosen design was submitted for UK and EU patent approval, which has subsequently been granted
This cutting system was then incorporated into the current working prototype that is designed to operate on a front loader for simplicity. The final iteration would go on an existing rear power arm with a collection hopper on the back of the tractor, as per the animation.
The working prototype has undergone extensive field trial and cut 500m of hedges in February 2026
From this work a number of improvements have been identified which will be built into the second prototype which is currently under development and construction which will be used for further extensive trial in the autumn and winter 2026/27.
Alongside this the Biomass that has been produced has been subjected to detailed independent analysis and the results are very encouraging.
What has also become clear is that the woody pieces dry out relatively quickly compared to other forms of Biomass.
The Hej Harvester project won the Farmers Weekly Farm Inventions Category for Complex Innovations, and it was a finalist for the prestigious Burke Perpetual Challenge Trophy for agricultural innovation as presented by HRH Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh, at the Devon County Show.
