A relatively inexpensive and highly versatile cover crop either sown alone or as a companion to other species.
It is ideal for early cover and although killed off by frost, the fallen woody stems will create shelter for the birds below. This is especially useful when sown with seed producing species which alone would provide no cover.
An eligible crop for inclusion in EFA catch and cover crop mixtures
Sow 2.5-5kg/acre or broadcast 5-7kg/acre.
Available in 5kg or 25kg packs.
A traditional mixture of species specially selected for their feed and cover qualities.
This mixture is designed for a full season of cover that will provide holding, feed and cover for all game birds. The sunflowers add an attractive splash of colour. Due to the variance in seed size, broadcast to achieve optimum establishment and ensure that treated seed is covered by harrowing and rolling.
Contains the following ingredients;
17.5% White Millet
15% Game Maize
15% Red Millet
14% Buckwheat
9.5% Kale
7.5% Sunflower
2.5% White Mustard
2.5% Forage Rape
1% Gold of Pleasure
0.5% Phacelia
Quinoa is capable of producing a plentiful amount of seed and therefore is a popular choice of crop for holding partridge and pheasants.
Many species of seed-eating song-birds are also attracted to the crop. Commonly grown with kale, quinoa provides cover and feed until it begins to collapse in the first frosts with the kale providing more permanent cover.
A biennial plant which can persist for several years due to its self-regenerating properties.
Owing to its sweet smell and copious production of nectar it is highly attractive to insects, which in turn attract game birds and wildlife. Sowing with kale will help to provide cover in the first year, with the tall, woody-stemmed clover taking over in the second year. Yellow blossom sweet clover can thrive in the poorest of soils and being leguminous and deep rooting it is invaluable for improving soil structure and fertility.
Sow 2.5kg/acre or broadcast 2.5kg+/acre.
Available in 2kg pack.
A prolific seeder, very fast to establish and a good weed suppressant.
It produces a mass of sweet smelling purple flowers providing a good source of nectar and seeds beneficial to a large variety of insects. It is not winter hardy and therefore for game cover it is best sown as part of a mixture. Phacelia is likely to set seed and reseed itself for many years to come
An eligible crop for inclusion in EFA catch and cover crop mixtures
Crimson Clover tollerates well in a wide range of soils but thrives in sandy, loamy, free draining soils. It has a deep rooted system which makes it drought tolerant.
It is fast to establish and is excellent at smothering weeds.
Crimson Clover is usually an annual as it is not very winter hardy
Forage Rape is particularly useful in that it can be used as a rescue or catch crop, continuing until the New Year when it flowers and goes to seed.
A well grown crop with adequate spacing between rows will provide good cover for holding, driving and feeding. It is largely unaffected by frost and wet weather.
Sow 2.5kg/acre or broadcast 4kg/acre.
Available in 5kg or 25kg packs.
Canary Grass provides excellent medium to long term nesting cover for pheasant and partridge and can be used to both hold and drive birds.
It is useful in areas where annual planting is not an option, either because it is uneconomic or too difficult and is a good choice to use between tree rows in newly established woods. Care must be taken to drill in wide enough rows to prevent the canary grass becoming too dense and therefore impassable for the birds. Annual management should be undertaken to keep the rows clear and topping is beneficial if the grass becomes too tall, with the debris being removed
Sow 2.5kg/acre.
Available in 2.5kg pack.
VAT Payable.
White Millet is best suited to more southerly regions of the UK as it is a sunshine loving plant and is not frost hardy.
It provides warmth, shelter and feed for game birds and will attract wild seed-eating birds such as finches. White millet is particularly attractive to grey and red-legged partridges and if sown alone can be used for early holding cover. When required to last longer into the season it performs well if sown with maize but will combine well with a variety of other game cover crops.
Ambush Millet Mix is a combination of white, red and Japanese reed millet.
The reed millet being a stronger plant and more winter hardy provides cover while the white and red millet produces plentiful seed to hold the birds in the cover. It is an ideal mixture for use as a wind-proof belt on the outside of a block of maize or as a flushing point at the end of maize.
Contains the following ingredients;
40% White Millet
40% Red Millet
20% Japanese Reed Millet
A fast growing cover crop, its prime usefulness being where brassica sickness is a problem due to its immunity to the disease.
Other qualities are its speed of establishment which aids weed suppression, and its use as a green manure crop. It is useful as a catch crop in northern regions if sown in July as it will be ready to provide cover within six to eight weeks, just as birds are losing cover from the cereals being combined. Due to its fast growth it is valuable as a replacement for failed crops, and will continue to provide cover right through the season. In addition, it holds its seed in pods which shed in late winter/early spring, thus providing feed during that all important ‘hungry gap’.
Sow 2.5kg/acre or broadcast 2.5-3.5kg/acre.
Available in 5kg pack.
Giant Sorghum is a sorghum x sudan grass hybrid standing approximately 2 metres tall and therefore is extremely useful as a windbreak to protect more vulnerable crops.
Its deep rooting system enables it to withstand drought conditions. Useful as a flushing crop even though it is prone to lodging later in the season.
A rapidly growing short term crop highly attractive to pheasants, partridge and deer both as cover and feed.
The large amount of nectar produced attracts bees and other beneficial insects which in turn provide added interest for game birds. It is a useful component to add to mixtures due to its bulkiness and its ability to continue to provide holding cover and feed after the first frosts when the crop has fallen. Buckwheat thrives best in sunny rather than shaded areas.
Sow 20kg/acre or broadcast 20kg+/acre.
Available in 5kg pack.
All Season maize blend + Redigo M is a unique blend of three maize varieties of varying maturity producing special benefits that cannot be achieved by growing a single variety.
Shooting cover requirements differ greatly and much depends on the specific job the crop is grown to do.
Growing maize provides birds with the availability of grain to feed on throughout the season, plus cover due to the ability of the maize to stand to the end of the season.
“All Season” is able in good or bad seasons to produce grain because of the range of maturities within the blend, which is described below.
Redigo M is a fungicide treatment so the maize should be drilled when the soil temperature has reached a minimum of 10° C for at least three consecutive days to allow the seed a rapid establishment.
In addition it is better to drill the seed a bit deeper than normal at round 7 – 8cm. By doing this the rooks find it much more difficult to find and eat the seed.
Early Variety
In a good or bad season grain is produced of a satisfactory maturity to provide feed.
The plants brackle over to make cobs available to the birds.
Medium Variety
In a good season this will give good grain yields later than the earlier variety, spreading the feeding season and holding the birds.
Late Variety
Produces very large strong plants for all season cover with good resistance to lodging because of its very high fusarium disease resistance.
Northern Star Game mixture is ideal for use in colder, more exposed areas.
This mixture will provide cover and feed as well as being a haven for wildlife throughout the season. The triticale in the mixture is beneficial where rabbit damage is a potential problem. It is advisable to sow in wide rows to enable birds to have free access.
Contains the following ingredients;
50% Spring Triticale
38% Spring Beans
5% Forage Rape
5% Kale
2% Yellow Blossom Clover
A wheat/rye hybrid cereal providing good cover and feed in marginal low fertility areas where it will thrive with little input.
Useful in situations where maize and millet are not options and where brassica sickness is a problem. Further important advantages are its ability to withstand rabbit attack, its winter hardiness and good disease resistance. When sowing in the spring, a true spring type must be used which does not require a period of vernalisation, otherwise the plant will not produce grain.
A green manure crop with biofumigation properties, i.e. it suppresses soil-borne pests and diseases.
It is an easy to establish 50 - 70 day crop that can be sown between April and September and, unlike white mustard, it is winter hardy. It will improve the health of the soil by increasing organic matter and acts as an excellent weed suppressant. It is also especially useful as over-wintering green cover after maize, potatoes and sugar beet crops, reducing soil erosion, fertiliser leaching and water run-off.
Creates tall, dense cover, bolting in its second year to create a 6 - 7ft flowering hedge, useful where a perimeter barrier is required.
It has good tolerance to drought, acid soils and major pests (but does not like very wet ground) and has a high mineral content including Zinc, Potassium and Copper.
Sow 2kg/acre or broadcast 2kg+/acre.
Available in 2kg pack.
Grüner Angeliter is proving to be a significant improvement in the game cover sector and has performed extremely well even in difficult growing conditions.
It has a high leaf canopy and a thick strong stem with a branching, umbrella-shaped canopy giving plenty of space for the birds to move about underneath.
Sow at 1.5-2kg/acre or broadcast 2-3kg/acre.
Available in 1kg pack.
Goldeneye is a giant type kale especially bred for the game cover market, selected for the optimum combination of height and leaf production.
It has a leafy top, strong stem, good winter hardiness and good field tolerance of disease, making it the ideal choice for game cover usage. In a trial conducted at the Scottish Agricultural College, Aberdeen, Goldeneye achieved a higher vigour score than Caledonian kale and better club root tolerance.
Club Root Tolerant.
Sow at 1.5-2kg/acre or broacast 2-3kg/acre
Available in 1kg pack.
A combination of three excellent game cover kale varieties, to provide a tall varied canopy.
This blend will give superb cover over an extended period and will give second year growth with various bolting times. The flowering kale attracts insects and provides shed seed, all helping to draw both game and song birds.
Spitfire is a modern rape created by crossing rape with kale and is a good companion to use with other fast establishing brassicas.
It is a rapid growing brassica that can be used as a rescue or catch crop that will provide good cover for holding, driving and feeding game birds. It is a medium-tall variety with excellent aphid tolerance and rapid establishment to maturity.
The forage rape element of this mixture ensures quick establishment and high protein yields, whilst the stubble turnips provide energy and stockholding capacity.
The mixture is ideal for fattening stock and will provide grazing from July through to December.
Sow mid April - mid September.
Stock should be introduced gradually over a two week period and an area of grassland should be available for animals to return to; water and hay or straw should also be made available.
Contains the following ingredients;
60% Forage Rape.
35% Stubble Turnip.
5% Kale.
Sow at 2.5kg/acre.
Available in 10kg pack.
A mixture of palatable, proven varieties ideal for sowing after winter cereals.
The mixture is suitable for post Christmas grazing as it exhibits very good winter hardiness, which is improved by the addition of the kale.
Sow mid July - mid September.
Stock should be introduced gradually over a two week period and an area of grassland should be available for animals to return to; water and hay or straw should also be made available.
Zoom is a blend of Winfred hybrid brassica and forage rape.
This is a very vigorous and quick growing mixture which is ideal for replacing failed crops or patching spring sown crops. High seedling vigour gives a reliable establishment of a high leaf to stem ratio crop with carefully selected varieties that have good disease and bolting resistance.
A mixture of species which provides a perfect rearing/release pen mixture.
This mixture establishes rapidly and forms a hardwearing sward which will withstand intensive stocking. The legumes included will fix nitrogen and attract insects.
Contains the following ingredients;
25% Amenity Perennial Ryegrass.
23% Late Perennial Ryegrass (Diploid).
20% Creeping Red Fescue.
15% Timothy.
7% Meadow Fescue.
6% Birdsfoot Trefoil.
4% White Clover.
GrassMax™ overseeding mixtures have been designed to meet the precise requirements of the field and its intended use.
It is important to remove all surplus growth from the existing sward before overseeding.
Contains the following ingredients;
30% Citeliac Hybrid Ryegrass (T)
30% Glenstal Intermediate Perennial Ryegrass (T)
30% Alfonso Late Perennial Ryegrass (T)
10% Dual Purpose White Clover Blend
The BGM1 produces attractive field margins offering permanent wildlife ‘corridors’ and a physical barrier to weeds.
Excellent drought tolerance.
Ideal for nesting areas for pheasant and partridge
A blend containing a high proportion of taller, tussocky grasses designed to create an environment attracting and protecting a wide range of insects, birds and mammals.
Contains the following ingredients;
20% Hard Fescue.
20% Creeping Red Fescue.
20% Cocksfoot.
20% Timothy.
20% Tall Fescue.
The BGM2 is lower growing grass species combined to produce a dense, easily managed turf, which when grown alongside the BGM1, will attract a wider range of wildlife, provide an easier run for larger mammals and produce a barrier reducing the risk of weed infestation to any adjacent crop.
More functional than BGM1 offering a lower growing option.
Good ground cover potential for weed suppression.
Contains the following ingredients;
20% Hard Fescue.
20% Creeping Red Fescue.
20% Chewings Fescue.
20% Timothy.
20% Tall Fescue.
The BGM3 is an improved version of the BGM1 mix.
The inclusion of legumes not only improves the drought tolerance of the sward but also attracts more insects and adds a splash of colour when flowering.
Contains the following ingredients;
20% Hard Fescue.
20% Creeping Red Fescue.
20% Timothy.
15% Cocksfoot.
15% Tall Fescue.
5% Birdsfoot Trefoil.
5% Small White Clover.
The WBS1 provides cover and feed for small birds, mammals and game throughout the year.
Attracts Tree Sparrows.
Will provide shelter in “open” cover and shed seed through the late Autumn and Winter period.
No cover in the second year.
Sow late March-end April.
Contains the following ingredients;
60% Spring Triticale.
30% Spring Barley.
5% White Millet.
2% Red Millet.
2% Mustard.
1% Fodder Radish.
The WBS2 provides more cover than WBS1, with seed shedding in Autumn and Winter to provide feed.
Attracts Grey Partridge.
The Kale, Sweet Clover and cereal volunteers will provide feed and cover in the second year.
Sow late March-end April.
Contains the following ingredients;
55% Spring Triticale.
25% Spring Barley.
7% Kale.
4% White Millet.
4% Fodder Radish.
3% Qunioa.
2% Red Millet.
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