All Game Cover Seed Crops

Spitfire Hybrid Forage Rape is a rape and kale hybrid, is a good companion to use with other fast establishing brassicas. 

• Provide cover for a whole season
• Very vigorous and quick growing, ideal for replacing failed crops or patching
• Good disease and bolting resistance
• Sowing rate: 2.5kg per acre.

Reed Canary Grass (Phalaris arundinacea) is similar to Canary Grass (Aquatica) however it is much hardier.

• A perennial species which can last for 10 years
• Suitable for exposed northern sites - good frost and winter hardiness
• Strong stems and thick leaves provide reliable cover for ground-nesting birds
• Similar to conventional canary grass with improved hardiness 
• Inoculated with rhizobia
• Sowing rate: 2.5kg per acre Pack Size: 2.5kg

Canary Grass (Phalaris aquatica) gives excellent long term nesting cover for partridges and pheasants.

• A perennial species which can last for 10 years.
• Perfect for poor quality sites where annual sowing is difficult or impractical.
• Can grow to 60cm in first year and over 150cm in following years.
• Requires sowing in wide rows to prevent it from becoming to thick
• Sowing rate: 2.5 kg/acre Pack Size: 2.5kg.

Intermediate Sorghum as the name suggests grows to a height between the Giant and Dwarf varieties. 

• Grows to a height of around 1.5 metres.
• Useful as a windbreak around other game cover crops
• Tall cover provides birds with protection from overhead predators
• Similar to maize but does not produce a cob
• Sowing rate: 10kg per acre.

Sunflowers are another great option when it comes to cover crops, whether used straight or in a mixture to produce combined benefits.

• Standard tall variety.
• Excellent nectar rich flowers provide food for pollinators.
• Dead flower heads provide an ideal overwintering habitat for pollinators. 
• Frequently sown as part of a game cover mixture or with Kale.
• Sowing rate: 5kg per acre.

A high yielding, shorter stem variety - a popular option for spring sowings to help control black grass and broad leaved weeds.

• Very quick and early to mature, generating excellent yields
• Strong reputation for producing high yields in following wheat crops
• Performs well on thin soils. Not frost hardy
• Provides interest well into the winter, particularly sown with other species
• Sowing Rate: 50kg / ha

White millet is a popular choice as it provides cover and a source of food. Particularly attractive to English and French partridges.

• Produces a plentiful supply of small seeds for birds
• Often sown in conjunction with maize or kale
• It is vigorous and will grow to a height of up to 90cm
• Thicker leaved and higher seed production than red millet
• Sowing rate: 5kg acre.

Red Millet is best sown alongside other crops to provide a source of food which will help to keep birds in the covers. 

• Will produce a plentiful supply of small seeds for birds
• Often sown in conjunction with maize or kale
• Red millet is earlier maturing than white millet
• Susceptible to frost
• Sowing rate: 5kg acre.

A blend of three varieties of maize with different maturity dates to provide effective cover and feed for the duration of the season.

• A blend of early, intermediate and late varieties.
• Varieties selected for good early vigour and standing ability.
• Treated with Redigo M (or equivalent Fungicide).
• Sowing rate: 45,000 seeds per acre. Packsize: 1 acre (45,000 seeds).

An excellent combination of winter hardy cover provided by the Kale and high quality feed provided from the Quinoa.

• Winter hardy cover of kale and feeding potential of quinoa.
• Quinoa provides high protein feed with kale keeping the birds dry
• Kale will provide cover for two seasons.
• 50% Quinoa, 50% Goldeneye Kale 
• Sowing rate: 2kg per acre. Pack size: 5kg.

HiBird Maize blend is a mixture of early, intermediate and late varieties.

• Provides a great food source.
• Good early vigour and standing power.
• Treated with Fungicide and Korit Bird Repellent.
• Spreads timings of cob ripeness.
• Sowing rate: 50,000 seeds per acre. Packsize: 1 acre (50,000 seeds).

Fodder Radish is a quick growing cover crop which scavenges nitrogen, produces large amount of organic matter and improves soil structure.

• Quick growing, produces high organic matter in short periods
• Suppresses weeds and deep roots benefit soil structure
• Ideal as a green manure crop sown in early autumn
• Effective as a standalone green cover or in mixtures
• Sowing rate: 15-25kg / ha

Rapid Fire remains one of the most trusted game cover maize products on the market. Varieties are selected for standing ability, early vigour and low cob carriage.

• A good hybrid selection with high germination that will provide feed and cover.
• Treated with bird repellent and fungicide.
• Very good standing, medium maturity and good cob development.
• Sowing rate: 50,000 seeds per acre. Packsize: 1 acre (50,000 seeds).

Phacelia is a prolific seed producer, very fast to establish and an excellent source of pollen and nectar. This makes it attractive to both insects and wild birds.

• A popular green manure crop which is an excellent weed suppressor
• Establishes fast and matures within 10-12 weeks
• Produces a large root mass making the plant an excellent soil improver
• Will produce a multitude of flowers - loved by bees and other insects
• Sowing rate: 5-8kg / ha

Sundown mixture combines Sunflower and Maize seeds, two of the most popular game cover seed species used in the UK.

• Combines the fantastic feeding potential of both species.
• Provides full season cover and feed.
• Fungicide treated seed.
• 55% Game maize, 25% Sunflower, 20% Dwarf Sorghum
• Sowing rate: 13kg per acre .Pack Size: 13kg. 

Fast-growing, quick to establish, and frost hardy. Ideal to sow in late summer or early autumn to provide cover that will last all winter.

• Rapid growing catch crop
• Excellent as a "rescue" mixture for patching failed crops
• Ideal for when a late sown cover crop is required
• Includes: Texsel Greens, Hybrid Brassica, Fodder Radish, Brown Mustard
• Sowing rate: 2.5 -4 kg per acre. Pack size: 10kg

Ethiopian mustard is a fast growing frost hardy, brassica which produces a dense leafy canopy and acts as an excellent weed suppressor.

• Produces a dense leafy canopy to supress weeds
• Fast and easy to establish providing rapid ground cover
• Frost hardy cover crop ideal for use in later sowings
• Can tollerate and improve poor soil conditions 
• Sowing rate: 5kg / ha

Very tall variety with excellent winter hardiness. A branching, umbrella shaped canopy creates plenty of room underneath for pheasants and partridges.

• Good winter hardiness and excellent feeding quality
• Fresh yields 15% higher than Caledonian and 10% higher than Bittern
• Tried and tested for many years and is still very popular today
• Sowing rate: 2kg per acre.

Thousand Head Kale is a popular, tried and tested variety with good standing ability and winter hardiness.

• Thousand Head is a slender stemmed variety bearing leafy foliage. 
• Excellent winter hardiness providing forage for feeding after Christmas. 
• Can supply approximately 90 tonnes/ha of green forage matter.
• Sowing rate: 2kg per acre.

This fastest growing rye, POWERGREEN is a high yielding variety which can grow at the lower temperatures, making it ideal for late sowing or early harvests.

• Fast initial development, high tillering and high output
• Good growth in cold conditions, excellent winter hardiness
• High nitrogen uptake throughout autumn
• Sow in autumn for incorporation and use in the spring
• Sowing rate: 150kg / ha

Triticale produces long straw with an excellent resistance to lodging. Impressive root development extracts nutrients from deep in the soil profile.

• A wheat/rye hybrid cereal providing good cover and feed in low fertility areas.
• Clean crop with a low susceptibility to fusarium and ergot 
• Resistant to attack from rabbits
• Higher grain yield than other leading varieties
• Sowing rate: 100kg / ha

Texsel greens are a fast growing, shiny leaved brassica developed from Ethiopian mustard. Very easy to establish and provide frost hardy cover.

• Produces a broken canopy, ideal for flushing birds.
• Texel Greens are fast and easy to establish.
• Frost hardy cover crop.
• Ideal for suppressing weeds.
• Sowing rate: 2kg per acre. Pack Size: 2kg. Treated seed.

A mix of white, red and Japanese reed millet. The white millet provides a source of food  whilst the Japanese reed millet provides cover.

• The strong reed millet plant provides long season cover for flushing
• White and red millet provides feed to hold birds in the cover
• Winter hardy allowing it to be used through the shooting season
• 40% White Millet, 40% Red Millet, 20% Japanese Reed Millet
• Sowing rate: 5kg per acre. Pack Size: 10kg

The Traditional Game Cover Mixture combines a broad range of species which will give a full season of cover and a supply of food.

• A tried and tested mixture of species that provide feed and cover
• Sunflowers provide an attractive splash of colour
• Differing seed sizes mean it is best to broadcast rather than drilled
• Game Maize (treated), White Millet, Red Millet, Buckwheat, Sorghum, Kale, Sunflower, White Mustard, Forage Rape, Gold of Pleasure, Phacelia
• Sowing Rate: 10kg per acre. Packsize: 10kg