The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 10 letter word SHAGGINESS
I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
S
H
A
G
G
I
N
E
S
S
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Degree to which trim needed" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case degree to which trim needed = shagginess.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.