All Game Cover Seed Crops

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

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

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

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: 25kg

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).

Late Straight is late maturing and selected for its good standing ability.

• Produces a small immature cob that rarely develops past the 'bright white' stage.
• Very late maturity and of less interest to rats and badgers.
• Will still be looking good at the end of the shooting season.
• Late maturing varieties - cob maturity rate can vary depending on the growing season, time of sowing and husbandry
• Treated with Redigo M (or equivalent Fungicide) and Korit
• Sowing rate: 45,000 seeds per acre. Packsize: 1 acre (45,000 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

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).

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.

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) and Korit
• Sowing rate: 45,000 seeds per acre. Packsize: 1 acre (45,000 seeds).

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.

Use this mixture for CAHL2 (2024) and AHL2 (2023) Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) and AB9 Countryside Stewardship (Winter Bird Food), to provide important food resources for farmland birds, during autumn and winter.

• Farmland birds eat the seeds from October and beneficial insects including bees and butterflies use the flowers during the summer
• Sow in spring or early summer for optimum establishment - suitable for later sowings and re-sowing of failed crops, where permitted
• Re-sow in each year of your agreement
• Suitable for Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI): CAHL2 AHL2
• Suitable for Countryside Stewardship (CSS): AB9
• Contains: 35% Buckwheat, 30% Linseed, 15% White Mustard, 10% Oil Radish, 5% Brown Mustard, 5% Phacelia
• Sowing rate: 8-10kg/ha (added to c.40kg cereals) or 15-20kg/ha (as a standalone mix). Pack size: 20kg

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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

White mustard is an ever popular choice for game cover. Very easy to establish and grows rapidly, providing cover until the first winter frosts. 

• Can be sown alone or as a companion to other species
• Ideal for early cover, killed off by frost will create shelter for birds
• Quick growing - ideal for patching failed spring cover crops
• Also opular as a green manure crop
• Suitable for Countryside Stewardship (CSS): AB2 
• Sowing rate: 15kg / ha

Short stemmed, sturdy, broad-leaved and has a substantial seed head. Its shorter growing habit is ideal for exposed sites.

• Average height 1 - 1.25m.
• Very good standing power due to short growth habit.
• Ideal cover providing a warm holding area for birds.
• Sowing rate 12kg per acre.

A crop well suited to poorer and nutrient deficient soils. Fast maturing, free-branching plant producing seed attractive to birds.

• Useful mixture for exposed areas.
• Sow April/May for use from September onwards.
• Available mixed with Triticale, Barley and Linseed, see Partridge Mix.
• Annual specie providing cover up until Christmas.
• Sowing rate: 5kg per acre. Pack size: 5kg.

A fast establishing, maturing mixture ideal for patching failed crops or where a later sown crop is wanted. 

• Provides cover and potentially seeds within 16 weeks of sowing
• Rescue mixture for failed crops 
• Rapid establishment
• 50% Buckwheat, 15% Fodder Radish, 15% White Mustard, 10% Gold of pleasure, 10% Texsel Greens
• Sowing rate: 5kg per acre. Pack Size: 10kg 

Buckwheat is a fast-growing annual crop, with a dense canopy for excellent weed suppression. Buckwheat scavenges phosphates, helping to reduce leaching. Use as a short-term, fast growing cover crop, or as a companion crop to oilseed rape and other species.

• Rapid establishment and growth make it an ideal short-season crop
• A dense canopy works efficiently as an excellent weed suppressant
• Nectar-rich, helping boost pollinators and other beneficial insects
• Scavenges phosphates from the soil for future crops
• Sowing rate: 50kg / ha