Built around native forbs with staggered bloom timing and light, non-competitive native grasses, this mix maintains open soil exposure and vertical diversity essential for quail, woodcock, turkey, and pheasant broods.
Includes (#s/ac): Tick-trefoil, Showy (Canada) (0.113), Deer Tongue Grass (0.395), Wildrye, Virginia (0.04), Lespedeza, Roundhead (Bushclover) (0.197), Bergamot, Wild (Prairie Beebalm) (0.653), Red Top Panicgrass (0.222), Susan, Black-eyed (0.025), Golden Glow, Wild (cutleaf conefl, Green coneflTall Conefl) (0.035), Bluestem, Little (VNS) (0.098), Aster, New England (0.032), Vervain, Blue (0.019), Alexander, Golden (0.2). Created January 2026.
Purpose-built for wildlife managers who need brood habitat that functions — not just looks good on paper.
Primary Use
- Gamebird brood habitat
- Early successional wildlife management
- Field border establishment.
NRCS & Program Fit
- NRCS 645 – Upland Wildlife Habitat Management
- NRCS 327 – Conservation Cover (Early Successional Objective)
- NRCS 512 / 314 when used for wildlife field borders and buffers
- State wildlife agency and NGO habitat programs targeting declining upland birds
Key Benefits
- High insect abundance for protein-rich brood nutrition
- Open canopy structure ideal for chick movement
- Native forbs with staggered bloom from early summer through fall
- Light native grasses provide structure without suppressing forbs
- Excellent compatibility with rotational disturbance systems
Ideal Uses
- Gamebird brood habitat (quail, woodcock, turkey, pheasant)
- Early successional wildlife plantings
- Field borders and fallow cropland
- Wildlife openings and edge transitions
- Transition zones between grassland and forest
Where It Excels
- Hudson Valley
- Lake Ontario Plains
- Southern Tier
- Any landscape where early successional habitat is the limiting factor
Management Notes
This mix performs best when incorporated into a disturbance rotation.
- Maintenance: Disking, mowing, or prescribed fire every 2–4 years maintains open structure and forb dominance.
- Seeding Method: Drill preferred; broadcast acceptable with firm seed-to-soil contact.
- Fertility: Avoid heavy fertilization — lean soils favor forb production and insect abundance.
