SHIELD™
STAY HIDDEN. STAY DEADLY.™
Shield™ is a premium multi-layer screening blend designed to create tall visual barriers that conceal hunting access, hide food plots, establish travel corridors, and help you control how deer move across your property. Grow up to 10–12 feet of strategic cover in a single season.
PERFECT FOR
✓ Screening food plots from roads and neighboring properties
✓ Concealing stand and blind access
✓ Creating travel corridors and pinch points
✓ Property boundaries and visual barriers
✓ Hiding hunting activity
✓ Duck blind screening
✓ Hunters serious about property management
✔ Grows Up To 10–12 Feet Tall
✔ Multi-Layer Screening Blend
✔ Proven At The Testing Grounds™
Couldn't load pickup availability
Find SHIELD™ Near You
Enter your location to see the closest dealers currently carrying Backwoods SHIELD™
SHIELD™
SIX REASONS HUNTERS PLANT SHIELD™
TURN OPEN GROUND INTO HUNTING ADVANTAGE.
Hide Your Access
Walk to your stand without being seen by deer feeding in nearby plots or fields.
Screen Food Plots
Prevent mature bucks from watching roads, neighboring properties, or routine human activity around your destination food plots.
Create Predictable Movement
Add Deer Vetch to established warm-season plantings to increase forage diversity and nutritional value.
Build Instant Privacy
Establish a dense visual barrier in a single growing season instead of waiting years for trees or shrubs.
Improve Property Layout
Separate bedding, feeding, and hunting areas to create a more huntable property.
Enhance Waterfowl Hunting
Excellent for screening duck blinds, levees, and access routes where concealment is critical.
IS SHIELD™ THE RIGHT CHOICE?
What To Expect
FROM FAST ESTABLISHMENT TO YEARS OF TOUGH PERFORMANCE.
10-14 Days
Rapid Emergence
Seedlings begin establishing quickly as warm soils and adequate moisture promote vigorous early growth.
30-45 Days
Developing Cover
Plants begin creating a noticeable visual barrier while rapidly adding height and biomass.
60 Days
Strategic Screening
Dense stands begin hiding access routes, separating food plots, and directing wildlife movement.
90 Days
Maximum Concealment
A mature stand provides outstanding screening, hunting concealment, and property separation throughout hunting season.
WHAT'S INSIDE SHIELD™
Shield™ combines three complementary warm-season grasses that mature at different heights and growth habits to create an exceptionally dense, multi-layer visual barrier. Together they establish quickly, grow aggressively, and provide outstanding concealment throughout hunting season.
Rapid-growing Sorghum Sudan produces exceptional biomass and towering vertical growth, creating the backbone of the screen while quickly establishing the dense cover needed to hide stand access and separate hunting areas.
One of the most trusted screening species in wildlife management, Egyptian Wheat grows exceptionally tall with sturdy stalks that maintain an effective visual barrier throughout the season.
WGF Sorghum fills gaps throughout the stand with thick stems and leafy growth, increasing screen density while helping create a more complete visual barrier from top to bottom.
WHY THREE SPECIES?
Unlike planting a single screening grass, Shield™ combines species with different growth habits to produce a denser, more effective screen.
✔ Multiple canopy heights
✔ Greater overall density
✔ Faster establishment
✔ Better stand uniformity
✔ More effective concealment
✔ Season-long screening performance
Ghost Mode™
Success Starts With Timing
Where & When To Plant
Zone 1: April - June
Zone 2: April - June
Zone 3: April - June
Zone 4: May - June
Zone 5: May - July
Zone 6: May - July
PLANTING RULE
• Plant after all danger of frost has passed
• Soil temperatures should consistently exceed 60°F
• Plant just ahead of a soaking rainfall
Planting windows are general guidelines and may vary by local elevation, climate, and seasonal weather conditions.
Planting At A Glance
Coverage
Up To 1/4 Acre
Planting Depth
1/2"
Planting Method
Broadcast or Drill
Sunlight
Full Sun
Soil Ph
6.0 - 7.0
Moisture
Moderate
Common Mistakes
✗ Planting before soils have warmed
✗ Planting strips too narrow
✗ Planting in heavy shade
✗ Pour seed to soil contact
✗ Skipping fertilizer
View Full Planting Instructions
PREPARATION
Begin with a clean, weed-free seedbed by spraying or tilling existing vegetation. Shield™ performs best when planted into firm soil with excellent seed-to-soil contact. Remove excessive crop residue or thatch that may interfere with seed placement. For screening strips, prepare the entire width of the planting area to ensure a uniform stand from edge to edge.
SOIL TEST & FERTILITY
Conduct a soil test whenever possible and adjust soil pH to 6.0–7.0. Apply fertilizer according to soil test recommendations. For maximum
height, density, and season-long screening performance, fertilize with
Backwoods Fuel™ Cereal Grains at planting. Proper fertility dramatically
increases biomass production and overall screen effectiveness.
PLANTING RATE
Broadcast (Prepared Seedbed): 20 lbs/acre
Broadcast (No-Till): 25 lbs/acre
Drill: 15 lbs/acre
PLANTING DEPTH
Plant ½–1 inch deep. When broadcasting, lightly incorporate seed using a drag, cultipacker, or roller to ensure good seed-to-soil contact. Avoid planting deeper than 1 inch, as excessive planting depth can reduce emergence and stand uniformity.
TIMING
Plant after all danger of frost has passed when soil temperatures consistently exceed 60°F. For maximum screening height before hunting season, plant during late spring through early summer. Earlier plantings generally produce the tallest, densest screens before fall.
MOISTURE
Plant into adequate soil moisture or immediately before a soaking rainfall whenever possible. Consistent moisture during establishment promotes rapid germination, aggressive early growth, and uniform stand development. Supplemental irrigation may improve performance during prolonged
dry conditions.
SCREEN DESIGN
Shield™ is designed to influence deer movement—not just create cover. Plant screening strips 10–20 feet wide or wider around food plots, along access routes, beside roads, or between bedding and feeding areas. Wider screens provide significantly better visual concealment than narrow rows and are much more effective at directing wildlife movement.
ADJUSTING FOR PLS & GERMINATION
Recommended planting rates assume 100% Pure Live Seed (PLS) and 100% germination. Actual seed quality varies by lot. To determine an adjusted planting rate, divide the recommended seeding rate by the PLS percentage multiplied by the germination percentage (both expressed as decimals). Adjusting for PLS and germination helps ensure proper stand density, maximum screening height, and uniform visual coverage throughout the planting.
Build Your Complete Hunting Program
Step 1: Build Fertility
Step 2: Plant SHIELD™
Step 3: Create The Destination
Step 4: Supplement Your Herd
Step 5: Increase Mineral Intake
Step 6: Reliable Feed Delivery
Step 7: Spring Overseed
EVERY PRODUCT MUST EARN THE BACKWOODS® NAME.
Nothing earns the Backwoods® name until it proves itself in the field.
Every Backwoods® food plot, attractant, mineral, supplement, and feeder is developed and evaluated under real hunting conditions—not just test plots or research stations.
If it doesn't perform for us, it never reaches your property.
We don't build products to sell. We build products we trust enough to use ourselves.
Tested by hunters. Proven by deer.
At The Testing Grounds™
• Hundreds of acres evaluated
• Year-round field testing
• Real hunting pressure
• Properties in multiple regions
• Trail camera monitored
• Product performance documented
NOT SURE WHICH PLOT IS RIGHT FOR YOU?
Best For: Screening & property management
Best For: Everyday food plots.
Best For: Maximum attraction.
Best For: No-till planting
Real Plots. Real Deer. Real Results.
PROVEN IN THE REAL WORLD
Every photo on this page comes from real Backwoods® food plots planted and evaluated at The Testing Grounds™ and on customer properties across the country. No stock photography. No staged results. Just real-world performance.
Know Before You Grow
What is Shield™?
Shield™ is a premium annual screening blend designed to create tall visual barriers that hide hunting access, screen food plots, and help manipulate deer movement across your property.
How tall does Shield™ grow?
Under proper growing conditions, Shield™ can reach 10–12 feet tall, creating an outstanding seasonal visual barrier.
Does Shield™ provide deer forage?
While some species may be browsed, Shield™ is designed primarily for screening and concealment rather than nutrition.
How wide should a screening strip be?
For best results, plant screening strips 10–20 feet wide or wider to create an effective visual barrier.
Can I plant Shield™ around food plots?
Absolutely. Shield™ is ideal for surrounding destination food plots, hiding them from roads, neighboring properties, and routine human activity.
Can I plant Shield™ with a broadcast spreader?
Yes. Shield™ is designed to be planted with hand, ATV, UTV, or tractor-mounted broadcast spreaders.
Does Shield™ need fertilizer?
Yes. Proper fertility greatly improves height, density, and overall screening performance. Follow soil test recommendations for best
results.
Will Shield™ survive frost?
Shield™ is an annual screening blend. Growth will slow and eventually terminate following hard freezes.
Can I drill Shield™?
Yes. Drilling provides excellent seed placement and stand establishment, although broadcasting with good seed-to-soil contact also produces excellent results.