This is a subscriber-only article
The annual deadline for farmers involved in GLAS to have wild bird cover sown is 31 May. Farmers have a few options when it comes to what they will sow and those decisions will have to be made in the coming weeks. It is important to note that wild bird cover is being grown for a reason, to provide a food source and a winter cover for farmland birds and other animals.
When planting wild bird cover, farmers have the option of planting a one-year or two-year mix. Whichever mix is chosen will still require a certain amount of planting to be carried out every year.
Jim Gibbons, Germinal Ireland sales and production manager, has been growing wild bird cover for years, as well as supplying seed to other farmers.
“The payments that farmers are getting for the action are high so they should make the effort,” according to Jim. The payment rate for wild bird cover is €900/ha up to a maximum of 3ha with a total of 20,000ha of land designated to wild bird cover through GLAS.
Planting
When it comes to planting, drilling is the preferred sowing method, but broadcasting is permitted. However, if you are broadcasting the seed you must increase the seeding rate by between one third for smaller seeds and half for larger seeds, as shown in Table 2, and roll immediately post-sowing.
“If you want to give the seed a chance then you have to create a fine, firm seedbed with plenty of soil-seed contact,” Jim said.
“If you don’t sow it well, then it is a waste of time. If you are not in a position to get the field ploughed then another option is to give the field a few runs with the disc harrow and broadcast the seed, then cultivate the land again to bury the seed and roll it in.”
Ploughing would be the preferred option to bury the trash.
In general, livestock must remain out of wild bird cover from the date of planting up to 15 March each year. From this date on, they can enter the field to help break down the crop before replanting.
When it comes to the one-year mix, it must contain a cereal, either oats, barley, wheat or triticale and at least one species of either oilseed rape, linseed or mustard. “They are two different sized seeds so planting them at the same time won’t work as well,” according to Jim. “For one, the linseed seed is a lot smaller than the cereal seed and does not need to go as deep in the ground. The oats also need to be down deeper, otherwise birds will eat them before they get the chance to germinate.
It is recommended to sow cereals 5cm deep, while small seeds should be 1cm deep.
“When it comes to choosing between using the likes of linseed and mustard, it is predominantly linseed that is being sown and it is very successful for small birds. The main drawback with mustard is that it can be difficult to break down after the first year, when it needs to be replanted.
“I can see the supply of seed barley being tight while triticale is also hard got so I could see more farmers using wheat and oats this year.”
Two-year mix
Where you have sown the two-year seed mix, then you cannot let cattle into the kale for the first year, but they can enter the cereal portion of the parcel as it will have to be replanted.
Where they are being let in during the second year, farmers are urged to be cautious if there are flowers on the kale as it can be toxic to livestock, according to Jim. If being planted on marginal land it is advised to go for a cereal mix as opposed to a mix that involves kale which grows better in fertile, free-draining soils.
Where the two-year mix is being used, sow half of the plot with cereal and half with kale. Do not sow in alternate strips as the cereal must be re-sown every year.
Pre-sowing weed control can be used while pesticides cannot be applied after sowing. Spot spraying with herbicides for noxious weeds and invasive species is permitted.
Vermin
Anecdotally, there has been a variation in the vermin activity reported around wild bird cover crops with some farmers reporting high vermin levels, while others have no issues.
“Any crop could be susceptible to a vermin attack,” according to Jim. “There is no evidence to support the theory that one crop would be less susceptible to vermin than another.
“If there is an issue, then all farmers can really do is keep baiting points down. I have been growing wild bird cover for seven years and never had an issue but a lot depends on what else is around the crops.”
SHARING OPTIONS: