Hedging Duties in the Vineyard

Our friend has been coming to lend us a hand. We are so happy and so are our vines. This week's task is hedging. Hedging should be done from fruit set to véraison. Hedging allows for adequate light exposure of leaves, fruit, and developing buds in dense canopies.
Last year, around this time, we were hedging our vines. It is not too onerous a job when there are very few plants to hedge. But, with this year's 6,000 vines maturing, our friend brought his newly acquired electric hedger and made quick job of hedging our vines.
Do not try this at home!

The results of hedging can be seen here.
Before Hedging:

After Hedging:

Why do we hedge? We have 7 feet between rows, as the vines get taller, they throw shade on the adjacent row so hedging will take care of that problem. Also, we want to be able to spray all of the canopy, so the tops of the canopy being no taller than the top of the trellis will allow for complete spray coverage by our sprayer.
Kudos to our friend, a key talent in the vineyard!
References:
1. Amanda J. Vance, Alison L. Reeve and Patricia A. Skinkis, The Role of Canopy Management in Vine Balance, Oregon State University, June 2013.