This is a true early-successional mix, not a tall prairie planting. The result is a patchy, sun-lit canopy that supports insects for protein-rich diets, bare ground for movement, and soft cover for escape. It's purpose-built for wildlife managers who need brood habitat that actually functions — not just looks good on paper.
Key Benefits
- High insect abundance for brood nutrition
- Open canopy structure ideal for chick mobility
- Native forbs with staggered bloom from early summer through fall
- Light native grasses for structure without crowding out forbs
- Excellent fit for rotational disturbance systems (disking, fire, or mowing)
Ideal Uses
- Gamebird brood habitat (quail, woodcock, turkey, pheasant)
- Early successional wildlife plantings
- Field borders, fallow cropland, and wildlife openings
- Transition zones between grassland and forest
Where It Excels
- Hudson Valley
- Lake Ontario Plains
- Southern Tier
- Anywhere early successional habitat is a limiting factor
This mix is commonly used to support:
- NRCS 645 – Upland Wildlife Habitat Management
- NRCS 327 – Conservation Cover (early successional objective)
- NRCS 512 / 314 when used in wildlife field borders or buffers
- State wildlife agency and NGO habitat programs targeting declining upland birds
Management Notes
- Performs best when maintained in disturbance rotation (disking, mowing, or prescribed fire every 2–4 years)
- Drill or broadcast into firm seedbeds
- Avoid heavy fertilization — lean soils favor forbs and insects
