Farmer Kevin Attwood standing in his dry wheat fields

by Adam Williams

awilliams@thekmgroup.co.uk

Kent's struggling wheat farmers are praying for more rain as they brace themselves for critical weeks ahead.

Kevin Attwood, whose family have owned Down Court Farm in Doddington for more than 35 years, already knows wheat crop yields will be lower this year.

But more dry weather in the next four to five weeks could see him and other farmers across the county face the worst harvest for a generation.

The 51-year-old arable farmer, who harvests 2,500 acres of wheat on the North Downs, hopes rain clouds are on the horizon in June.

He said: "A dry spring this year already means our crop yield will be down 10 per cent, but we’re heading into unchartered territory now where things could get worse very quickly.

"The green fields I’m standing in today won’t look so lush in 10 days time.

"We could see a drop in yields of 30 per cent by the time we get to harvest and that’s even if we get some rain in the next couple of weeks.

"It’s just not getting to the south east every time it’s forecast, we had a shower last Sunday, but that was hardly worth mentioning.

"The last significant rainfall came on March 27. We had virtually nothing during April and that’s just continued into this month."

Today Kevin is at the mercy of selling into an ever-changing global market. Wheat prices are likely to be determined by how the rest of Europe copes with the conditions.

Should they enjoy a bumper crop this summer, the price of wheat could actually fall, leaving Kevin and many other farmers out of pocket.

He added: "The issue is that we just don’t know yet the full extent of what we’re cutting back on until the harvest.

"While we’re struggling and our yields are down, the rest of the world could be in another boat and that could see our prices drop.

"If it happens, it will be absolutely disastrous."