Now is the perfect time to review the season so far and – although it may seem early – get next season off to the best possible start…
As the excitement of the shooting season draws closer, many growers understandably shift focus from the field to the field day. But before the tweed is out, the gun slips are packed and the dogs get restless, now is a critical time to reflect on how your spring and early summer game and conservation crops have performed — and to start planning for next season.
Too often, growers leave it until next year to assess what went right and what went wrong. By then, the memory fades, and so do the opportunities to improve. That’s a mistake. Making notes now — even simple ones — on issues like pest damage, weed pressure, or establishment success could make all the difference next year.
Poor crop establishment, weed pressure, and pest damage are issues we all face — but the key is learning from them.
What Were the Main Issues?
Take a walk through your cover plots and ask some basic questions:
- How did your choice of crop work out and did it match your weed control options?
- Was pest pressure underestimated?
- Could cultivation or nutrition have been improved?
For example, if your plots are regularly challenged by fat hen or redshank, it may not make sense to grow a complex mixture that can’t be sprayed with a broad-leaved weed herbicide. Similarly, rogue millet or other grass weeds might make a grass herbicide-compatible mix a better option.
Brassica-based covers (like Keepers Relief and Winter Promise) and maize remain excellent choices when used appropriately. But your choice of crop should always match the conditions you’re managing — both agronomically and from a shoot perspective.
Planning The Habitat For Next Season
We know that a well-run shoot should balance productivity with habitat gains. That means thinking beyond individual crop plots and considering how they work within the wider landscape.
Nesting Habitat
Establishing grass margins, beetle banks, or second-year wild bird seed plots offers vital nesting cover. These areas can be sown in the autumn and maintained with low inputs to encourage safe, undisturbed nesting.
Brood-Rearing Habitat
Chicks rely heavily on invertebrate-rich areas for the first few weeks of life. Nectar flower mixtures, wildflower margins, and autumn-sown seed mixes all support pollinator populations and ensure a consistent food source during brood-rearing months. These plots often do double duty, acting as both nesting areas and insect-rich ground for young birds.
Overwintering Habitat
Once winter sets in, hedgerows alone may not offer enough. Winter bird food crops — including sorghum, millet, quinoa, and kale — play a vital role in feeding and sheltering both game and farmland birds. In a tough year, perennial covers offer real value here. Species like reed canary and chicory grass (as found in Brights’ Royal MK3 and MK4) can be planted in spring or autumn and will act as windbreaks, holding cover, or flushing points if annual crops fail.
Even though these perennial options aren’t currently funded under stewardship, they’re worth including as a fallback — especially when in recent years early conditions have made establishing maize or wild bird mixes more difficult.
Late-Sown Options Behind the Combine
Now is also the time to consider how to utilise land that becomes available behind the combine. Leaving stubble may seem the easy route, but drilling a late-sown crop can bring a host of benefits.
Recovery and Holding Mixes
Fast-growing species like mustard and buckwheat can be sown late and will still produce meaningful cover before the first frost. These can be used to hold birds early in the season, act as temporary drives, or simply offer valuable habitat while improving soil structure.
Drilling these crops into stubble also prevents nutrient leaching and keeps weed pressure down — especially when paired with light cultivation or minimal till.
Green Manure With Habitat Benefits
If shooting cover isn’t needed immediately, green manure mixtures with species like phacelia, vetch or crimson clover can help condition the soil while supporting biodiversity. These mixtures are especially useful for anyone considering repositioning drives or preparing new land for future game cover.
The key here is flexibility: these mixtures give you options. Whether you’re managing a new drive, enhancing soil health, or simply providing habitat into autumn and early winter — late-sown plots are an often-underused tool.
Don’t Rely on Memory for Next Season
When the season gets busy, it’s easy to forget the details — what worked well, what struggled, what pests came hardest. That’s why it’s essential to make notes now.
If Buckwheat and Phacelia performed brilliantly in a nectar strip, record it. If flea beetle ruined a brassica mix before it even got going, write that down. These insights help you choose the right mixtures next year — or even help develop your bespoke mix that is well-suited to your ground.
A quick voice note on your phone or jotting things down in a field notebook can pay dividends down the line.
The best shoots plan ahead. That means matching crop choice to weed and pest pressure, rotating cover types to break up problem species, and using perennial plots to build resilience.
Reflect. Record. React — and you’ll be in a far stronger position this time next year.