Description
Our ACRES Winter Bird Food Seed mix is ideal for the ACRES scheme.
This mix was first put together for the GLAS scheme and has been adapted now to suit the new ACRES Winter Bird Food option in the ACRES scheme. It contains the approved ratios of certified seed to satisfy the Department’s criteria for the Winter Bird Food Scheme.
I have avoided oats in this mix as it tends to attract rats and crows in large numbers. Normally I would use Triticale as the cereal, but due to the Triticale shortage, I had to use Wheat in this batch.
For best results, plough the ground and sow with a one pass drill. The greatest mistake that people make is to not cover the seed properly. This is often a result of not creating a fine seedbed. If the cereal seed in particular is not covered well enough, crows will devour the full plot of it in one early morning raid!
Use whatever method you can to keep the crows off the plot for one week after sowing. This advice is crucial and will be the making or breaking of the crop. One week of minding it is all it takes.
After that, you can walk away. You do not have to do anything more, other than wait for the cheque to arrive!
This winter bird food crop mix is a cheaper mix than my other game crops. However, you will find that is sufficient to meet the requirements laid down by the Department. To satisfy the Department’s criteria it must be sown each year.
Product details:
Our Winter Bird Food seed is available in 20Kg bags.
You will need 4 bags per hectare, and we offer free delivery on all orders.
For orders of over 4 bags please phone or e-mail for better discounts.
How to sow:
The Sowing rate is 80kgs/Ha and this Acres scheme mix is best sown from mid-April mid-May. If conditions are not good, then sowing can be delayed until late May, but do check with your adviser regarding the sowing deadline as it is sometimes extended in wet years.
If you are sowing very late, be aware that, while the cereal will grow the finest, it may not ripen.
Tadgh Reilly –
I purchased 8 bags of WBC seeds from you at the start of April and planted them all for the WBC / GLAS scheme. I must give you my full praise as the paddock is in full bloom with Triticale, linseed and mustard. I have done this scheme for the last 6 years and always got my WBC seeds from the Co-op – Oats Mix and whatever else they put in it. The Co-op seeds hardly ever grew and the paddock looked a terrible state for the year. I’m so glad that I changed my mind and got the seed mix from you this year.
Once again, thank you very much.