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Meet The Team – Five Products, Five Advisors

In the first of a new series of blogs, we thought it would be a good idea for our readers to get to meet the Bright Seeds team a little more – and find out what they think, and what they like, about some of our best-selling products.

As well as answering questions about our products, we also asked them who – dead or alive – they would like to take on their dream day’s shooting.

So, read on to get to know our team a little better…

Ben Dolbear – Technical Advisor

ProductUtopia – Utopia has now been established as one the best late sown game crops around. It is a unique cross and extremely versatile.

1.What is your favourite aspect of this product?

I like the fact that it is very fast growing and has a wide sowing date. Sown later, it will give a kale like cover. When planted earlier, it will bolt and go to seed – producing an abundance of food for farmland birds.

2. When does this product come into its own?

Utopia is often used as a later sown option. This means it is particularly useful if other crops have failed. Planted from mid-June until mid-August, it will provide good canopy cover right through the shooting season.

3. Where on a shoot is this product best suited?

Utopia can be used for running strips, as long as it’s on wider row widths. It’s also very effective on flushing points.

4. What makes this product different?

Utopia is a hybrid variety that is exclusive to Bright Seeds. It is a kale X mustard hybrid, so gives the growing power of the mustard but the physical presence of a kale plant. A proportion of sales also goes to the National Gamekeepers Organisations (NGO).

5. What other mixtures or straights does this product work best with?

Utopia is an annual, it features in our Grass Buster and Autumn Promise mixtures – these are primarily brassica-based mixtures. It can also work well in blocks side by side with both maize or sorghum.

6. What 4 people – dead or alive – would you invite to a day’s shooting with you?

Will Greenwood – An all-time great in the rugby world brilliant sense of humour and loads of stories to tell.

Jethro – It’s important to include a comedian for the day and as he is a passionate countryman, I thought he would fit in a treat.

James Martin – entertainment is covered so hopefully he will sort the food.

Bill Gates – I’m hoping he will pay!

Max Stuart – Technical Advisor

ProductFlightpath Maize – Our trademark maize variety. Flightpath is exclusive to Bright Seeds. Medium height with strong stems, it stands brilliantly through the winter.

1. What is your favourite aspect of this product?

Flightpath Maize is constant performer all year round – reliable and good yields.

2. When does this product come into its own?

Flightpath comes into its own in Autumn/Winter due to its strong stems, allowing it to easily stand all season – it also produces large amounts of feed to keep birds in peak condition, with plenty left to combine after seasons end.

Flightpath has been particularly popular this year with many customers facing rising feed costs.

3. Where on a shoot is this product best suited?

It’s best suited along the edges of woods and hedges, as well as exposed sites. It will grow well in several different soil types.

4. What makes this product different? 

 Flightpath Maize seed is grown and developed exclusively for Bright Seeds.

5. What other mixtures or straights does this product work best with? 

In my opinion, it works really well with our Broad Buster mix as this can be used as a windbreak around the maize. This helps to control broadleaf weeds, saving time and money.

6. What 4 people – dead or alive – would you invite to a day’s shooting with you? 

I would invite my boss and my teammates!

Chris for giving me the opportunity to work here at Bright Seeds and putting trust in me and Ben, Arthur and Bully for being welcoming, supportive, encouraging and informative.

It’s a great work family!! And I feel very lucky.

Arthur Barraclough – Technical Advisor

ProductPheasant & Finch – Our trademark wild-bird mixture. Created to benefit both game and farmland birds.

1. What is your favourite aspect of this product?

My favourite aspect of Pheasant & Finch is the fact that it complies for stewardship whilst also providing ideal game cover. For me, it’s probably the mixture that ticks the most boxes.

2. When does this product come into its own?

It comes into its own when the customers objective is to provide winter-hardy game cover, whilst also ticking the box for AB9 stewardship. Pheasant & Finch also contains seed producing species including millet, quinoa and linseed.

3. Where on a shoot is this product best suited?

This mix is well suited to many scenarios and locations. It works well on exposed sites as the kale and grain sorghum are both strong stemmed and very winter hardy.

The kale can be left for a second year, which produces the perfect habitat for poults. With this in mind, a lot of customers use it on game plots that are close to release pens.

4. What makes this product different?

A lot of mixtures are either one or the other…. they produce feed OR create a winter-hardy mix. Pheasant & Finch is unique in the sense that it successfully covers both of those objectives, which I think is the main reason for its continued popularity.

5. What other mixtures or straights does this product work best with?

It works well planted alongside a maize cover. Pheasant & Finch will act as the ideal windbreak and provide a more varied habitat compared to just maize.

It can also work well planted in conjunction with an annual mix such as Early Bird or Broad Buster, which enables a nice rotation to be created i.e., grow Pheasant & Finch for 2 years, then Broad Buster for 1 year, then back the Pheasant & Finch. This removes any risk of clubroot build-up in the kale and also allows a more varied herbicide approach to be used.

6. What 4 people – dead or alive – would you invite to a day’s shooting with you? 

Presuming that Little Mix would turn down the invite… I would invite the following:

Sean Lock – great comedian, would have been great for banter on the gun bus.

Thierry Henry – I was a football fanatic growing up, and being an Arsenal fan, I think Thierry would be a good addition to the team.

Prince Harry – to make up for the Boxing Day shoots he’s had to miss over the last couple of years.

Freddie Flintoff – a great guy, who would have plenty of funny stories to tell, I’m sure.

 

Marc Bull (Bully) – Technical Advisor

ProductGrass Buster – A winter-hardy brassica mix, ideal for flushing points and windy-breaks.

1. What is your favourite aspect of this product?

Grass Buster ticks several boxes – It’s stewardship compliant, gives good holding/flushing cover for game birds, whilst also providing a diverse feed element.

With some TLC during establishment, it can do two years to help with cost effectiveness.

2. When does this product come into its own?

Late season when annual crops have run out of steam.

3. Where on a shoot is this product best suited?

Either at flushing points or ran parallel with maize crops and used as part of a rotation.

4. What makes this product different?

A high inclusion rate of kale to help get away from predation losses. Due to all the brassica & linseed, it has herbicide options (very good on grass weeds) and can be sown from late May through to the end of July, depending on weather conditions.

5. What other mixtures or straights does this product work best with?

Best used in rotation with either maize or broad buster, for agronomic purposes.

6. What 4 people – dead or alive – would you invite to a day’s shooting with you? 

My grandad & uncle (both passed), my boy & my mam.

 

Chris Bright – Managing Director

ProductAutumn Promise – Our most popular summer-sown mixture. Very fast to establish and can be used in a range of scenarios.

1. What is your favourite aspect of this product?

The longest standing game cover product we have ever made. Autumn Promise has saved many shoots from failure over the last 30 years.

2. When does this product come into its own?

It is excellent for not only season long cover, but also early flowers and cover for spring brood rearing.

3. Where on a shoot is this product best suited?

Used mainly for sowing after harvest into stubble to help bolster additional cover or create a new drive.

4. What makes this product different?

It contains Utopia! Over the last 30 years we have very slightly modified the mixture as new and innovative products like Utopia appear. Remember, Utopia is exclusive to Bright Seeds.

5. What other mixtures or straights does this product work best with?

Keepers Relief and Utopia are similar variants, but usually its works well with a good game maize like Flightpath or Top Gun.

6. What 4 people – dead or alive – would you invite to a day’s shooting with you? 

My dad, David Bright, Founder of Bright Seeds. I always enjoy shooting with dad.

Winston Churchill, I find him fascinating and have read several books on him.

Arnold Schwarzenegger, mainly because it would be interesting and quite comical.

Jeremy Wade, because fishing is another passion of mine.

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