SITE SELECTION
Before deciding what crop you are going to grow you need to look carefully at the site:
- Accessibility – Can I get to the plot with cultivator, drill and sprayer?
- Soil type – Will my soil type limit my choices?
- Shading – Is the site shaded by trees?
- Weeds – What weeds am I likely to encounter and what will I need to do to control them
- Pests – Is the site prone to damage from Rabbits, Hares, Deer, Corvids, etc
We see far too many game crops failing because the soil structure is wrecked through cultivating in poor conditions with the wrong equipment. If the soil structure is poor it is less able to retain nutrients, creating a poor root zone and making it less able to support microbial life essential to a healthy soil.
Our Shoot Advisory service has an excellent reputation for helping Shoot Managers and Keepers to create the best habitat for their game birds. Tim Furbank has huge experience and talent for helping to spot new drives and design a habitat plan to hold birds in the right areas. We will always treat game crops with the same care and attention as any other combinable crop on the farm, which is why we deliver consistent results that deliver on those precious shoot days!
“GROWING DECENT GAME CROPS ON SOME OF OUR MORE EXPOSED SITES IS NEVER STRAIGHTFORWARD BUT BY WORKING WITH OAKBANK AND OUR FARM CONTRACTOR AND SHOWING GOOD ATTENTION TO DETAIL IN TERMS OF TIMINGS AND CROP AGRONOMY WE PRODUCED SOME REALLY GOOD CROPS THIS SEASON. AND THE BONUS IS THAT THE KALE AND PERENNIALS IN THE MIX LOOK TO HAVE SURVIVED THE WINTER WELL AND SHOULD DELIVER GOOD COVER FOR OUR WILD GAME AND THE EVER INCREASING NUMBERS OF SONGBIRDS THAT WE SEE ON THE ESTATE.’”
