Game Cover
Game cover seed mixtures and straight seeds are designed to support gamebirds and other wildlife by providing shelter, food, and nesting habitats. These mixtures typically include a variety of species such as maize, millet, kale, and sunflowers, which create dense cover and an abundant food source throughout the shooting season and beyond. Game cover crops also help protect birds from predators while promoting biodiversity in farmland areas.
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Straight seeds, such as specific varieties of millet or sorghum, can be sown alone or used to supplement tailored mixtures, allowing land managers to meet the specific needs of their gamebirds or local wildlife. By choosing the right combinations, game cover plantings can contribute significantly to conservation efforts and environmental sustainability.
Game Cover Mixtures
This mix with millet and sunflowers offers excellent cover and a rich food source for game birds and other wildlife. The tall, dense structure provides protection from predators, while being a nutritional resource.
Traditional Game Cover Mix
3Kg Game Maize
1.75Kg White Millet
1.5Kg Red Millet
1.5Kg Buckwheat
1Kg Kale
0.75Kg Sunflower
0.25kg White Mustard
0.25Kg Forage Rape
Mixture Details >
Sowing rate: 10kg per acre
This mixture with timothy and creeping red fescue provides an ideal environment for young game birds. Timothy offers excellent cover and soft texture, while creeping red fescue creates a dense, low-growing base for protection and ease of movement.
Rearing Field Mix
50% Agricultural Perennial Ryegrass
12% Smooth Stalked Meadow Grass
30% Strong Creeping Red Fescue
8% Timothy
Mixture Details >
Sowing rate: 10kg per acre
This mix with birdsfoot trefoil and meadow fescue provides high-protein forage that supports young livestock's growth. Birdsfoot trefoil fixes nitrogen in the soil, while meadow fescue offers resilience.
Premium Rearing Field Mix
3Kg Amenity Perennial Ryegrass
2.5Kg Late Perennial Ryegrass (Diploid)
2Kg Timothy
2Kg Meadow Fescue
2Kg Creeping Red Fescue
1Kg Birdsfoot Trefoil
0.5Kg White Clover
Mixture Details >
Sowing rate: 13kg per acre
The Millgame Millet Mix combines white and red millet, providing a nutritious and energy-rich seed blend that attracts a variety of bird species. White millet is especially favoured by small birds, while red millet appeals to game birds.
Millgame Millet Mix
50% Red Millet
50% White Millet
Mixture Details >
Sowing rate: 5kg per acre
The Ambush Millet Mix combines red millet and Japanese reed millet, making it perfect for attracting a variety of birds. Red millet is ideal for small songbirds, while Japanese reed millet provides larger seeds loved by game birds.
Ambush Millet Mix
40% Red Millet
40% White Millet
20% Japanese Reed Millet
Mixture Details >
Sowing rate: 5kg per acre
The Sorghum Mix features both giant and dwarf sorghum varieties, providing a versatile food source for various bird species. Giant sorghum attracts larger birds with its tall seeds, while dwarf sorghum offers more accessible food for smaller birds.
Sorghum Mix
50% Giant Sorghum
50% Dwarf Sorghum
Mixture Details >
Sowing rate: 10kg per acre
A mix of game maize and dwarf sorghum combines the high-energy food source of maize with the drought tolerance and smaller seeds of sorghum, ideal for attracting various bird species.
Maize and Sorghum Mix
10Kg Game Maize Blend
4Kg Dwarf Sorghum
Mixture Details >
Sowing rate: 14kg per acre
A mix of game maize and sunflower provides a high-energy food source for a variety of bird species. The maize offers energy, while the sunflower seeds attract wild birds, making this combination ideal.
Maize and Sunflower Mix
11.5Kg Game Maize Blend
1.5Kg Sunflower
Mixture Details >
Sowing rate: 13kg per acre
A late cover mix with forage rape and stubble turnip provides a high-energy food source for game birds and wildlife. Forage rape offers leafy cover and protein-rich forage, while stubble turnips supply root crops that can be consumed during winter.
Late Cover Mix
3Kg Forage Rape
1.5Kg Stubble Turnip
0.35Kg White Mustard
0.15Kg Fodder Radish
Mixture Details >
Sowing rate: 5kg per acre
A mix with fodder radish and white mustard is ideal for improving soil and supporting wildlife. Fodder radish breaks up compacted soil, improving drainage, while white mustard grows quickly to suppress weeds.
Fodder Radish and Mustard Mix
3.5Kg Fodder Radish
1.5Kg White Mustard
Mixture Details >
Sowing rate: 5kg per acre
A quinoa and kale mix enhances soil health and supports biodiversity. Quinoa thrives in poor soil and is drought-tolerant, while kale offers a quick-growing food source for wildlife, creating an environmentally sustainable combination.
Quinoa and Kale Mix
1.25Kg Quinoa
1.25Kg Kale
Mixture Details >
Sowing rate: 2.5kg per acre
A mix of linseed and buckwheat benefits both soil and wildlife. Linseed improves soil structure with its deep roots, while buckwheat attracts pollinators and suppresses weeds. Together, they foster a healthy, diverse environment.
Coax Game Mix
2Kg Linseed
2Kg Buckwheat
3Kg Millet blend
0.5Kg Fodder Radish
0.5Kg Mustard
Mixture Details >
Sowing rate: 8kg per acre
Game Cover Seed
Borage
Borago officinalis​
Sowing rate: 10kg per acre
Borage, or Starflower, is an annual plant known for its vibrant blue flowers that bloom from May to September, attracting pollinators like honeybees and bumblebees. Its deep tap roots help improve soil compaction, but it can self-seed aggressively, making it challenging to control once established.
Buckwheat
Fagopyrum esculentum
Sowing rate: 20kg per acre
Buckwheat is a fast-growing annual known for its dense ground cover, which helps suppress weeds and improve soil by breaking down phosphate for other crops to access. It is a vital source of pollen and nectar for pollinators and invertebrates, though it is not frost-hardy.
Canary Seed
Phalaris canariensis
Sowing rate: 15kg per acre
Canary Seed is a dense, bushy, annual crop that provides an essential food source for birds, especially during the winter months. Its small, nutritious seeds attract various bird species, offering sustenance when other food sources are scarce.
Canary Grass
Canary Grass is a hardy perennial that thrives in poor soils, providing crucial cover for game birds during winter. It flowers from June to September and offers warm nesting, driving, or holding cover, making it valuable for wildlife conservation and game management.
Phalaris aquatica
Sowing rate: 3kg per acre
Dwarf Sunflower
Helianthus annuus​
Sowing rate: 10kg per acre
Dwarf Sunflower is a smaller, more manageable variety that grows up to 1 meter tall, offering stronger stem support compared to standard sunflowers. It provides excellent cover and vibrant blooms, making it an ideal choice for gardens, wildlife habitats, and game bird environments.
Dwarf Sorghum
Sorghum bicolor
Sowing rate: 8kg per acre
Dwarf Sorghum is a compact, dense annual crop that offers valuable cover for game birds. Its short, stocky growth habit provides strong standing ability and can be used alongside taller crops as an effective windbreak.
Ethiopian Mustard
Brassica carinata
Sowing rate: 2kg per acre
Ethiopian Mustard is a fast-growing crop that establishes quickly and forms a dense, leafy canopy, helping to suppress weeds. It is frost-hardy and ideal for protecting soil and managing vegetation in colder climates.
Fennel
Foeniculum vulgare
Sowing rate: 5kg per acre
Fennel is a hardy, drought-tolerant, short-term perennial that establishes easily. With its distinctive aniseed scent and yellow flowers, it attracts pollinators and beneficial insects. Its tall, dense growth provides excellent cover for game birds like partridges and pheasants.
Giant Sorghum
Sorghum bicolor​
Sowing rate: 12kg per acre
Giant Sorghum is a hardy, vigorous annual that can grow up to 2 meters tall, forming a dense canopy that offers excellent cover for birds. Its deep root system makes it drought-resistant once established, making it a reliable choice for providing warm shelter for wildlife.
Gold of Pleasure
Camelina sativa
Sowing rate: 5kg per acre
Gold of Pleasure, or False Flax, is a drought-tolerant annual that quickly establishes itself. It provides nutritious food and shelter for farmland birds, particularly through the winter, and is especially beneficial to partridges.
Japanese Reed Millet
Echinochloa esculenta
Sowing rate: 10kg per acre
Japanese Reed Millet offers both food and shelter for game birds, though it provides a smaller quantity of food compared to other millet varieties. It is a stronger, more winter-hardy species, making it ideal for colder climates where resilience is key.
Linseed
Linum usitatissimum
Sowing rate: 20kg per acre
Linseed is a tall, upright annual crop traditionally used for fabric production and linseed oil. In game cover mixes, it provides valuable food for game birds in autumn but should be sown in a mix, as it can produce sparse cover if grown alone. Linseed is fast to establish and also helps improve soil quality.
Quinoa
Chenopodium quinoa​
Sowing rate: 4kg per acre
Quinoa is an annual crop used in game cover mixes to provide feed for pheasants, partridges, and farmland birds. Its upright growth and large seed heads produce a significant amount of seed, which sheds over several months, offering a continuous food supply throughout the autumn.
Reed Canary Grass
Phalaris arundinacea
Sowing rate: 3kg per acre
Reed Canary Grass is a hardy perennial that provides excellent tall cover for nesting, holding, and driving game birds. Although slow to establish in the first year, it is extremely winter-hardy and can last over seven years, making it a more durable option than regular Canary Grass.
Red Millet
Panicum miliaceum
Sowing rate: 10kg per acre
Red Millet is an annual plant that provides both food and cover for game birds. While it has a lower seed yield compared to White Millet and flowers slightly later, it pairs well with White Millet in mixes, as White Millet's earlier flowering extends the seed shedding period, benefiting farmland birds. However, Red Millet is not frost hardy.
Sunflower
Helianthus annuus
Sowing rate: 10kg per acre
Sunflower is a tall annual crop with strong roots that help alleviate soil compaction. It produces a valuable food source for both songbirds and game birds, especially during the autumn and winter months.
White Millet
Panicum miliaceum
Sowing rate: 10kg per acre
White Millet is an annual crop that offers food and cover for game birds. It blooms earlier than Red Millet and produces thicker leaves with larger seed heads, resulting in higher yields. When sown with Red Millet, it extends the seed shedding period, providing a longer food source for farmland birds. White Millet is also commonly paired with Maize but is not frost hardy.
Also available:
Miscanthus
Sowing Rate – 4Kg/acre
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Tic Beans
Sowing Rate – 75Kg/acre​
We can also offer cereals as straights:
Spring Triticale Triticosecale
Sowing Rate – 75Kg/acre
Spring Wheat Triticum aestivum
Sowing Rate – 75Kg/acre
Spring Barley Hordeum vulgare
Sowing Rate – 75Kg/acre
Spring Oats Avena sativa
Sowing Rate – 50-65Kg/acre
Forage Rye Secale cereale
Sowing Rate – 75/Kg/acre
Winter Triticale Triticosecale
Sowing Rate – 75Kg/acre
Winter Wheat Triticum aestivum
Sowing Rate – 75Kg/acre
Winter Barley Hordeum vulgare
Sowing Rate – 75Kg/acre
Winter Oats Avena sativa
Sowing Rate – 50-65Kg/acre
