by Lauren Fruen

A struggling farmer has warned he faces a bleak 2013 if the weather does not improve.

Kevin Attwood, whose family have owned Down Court Farm in Doddington for more than 35 years, said Kent farmers are bracing themselves for two bad harvests on the bounce.

It is only the second time in more than 30 years that the 53-year-old has seen weather conditions like those he faced in 2012, and it means a worrying few months ahead.

Kevin said: “At the beginning of last year it was very dry and then it became very wet.

"We would normally see 25in of rain in a year. In the past 12 months we have had 34in.

“This means we have a lower level of crops predicted in spring and that will reflect in the 2013 harvest.

"The weather these past 12 months has been very rare. It is only the second time in my 30 years of farming we have faced this."

The other time was in 2000.

"The weather means we will have two poor harvests back to back.”

And for the arable farmer, who harvests 2,500 acres – almost four square miles – of wheat on the North Downs, the effects of the rare weather conditions could be very serious.

During a good harvest Mr Attwood could expect to see four tonnes of wheat per acre, but this year he is looking at just three.

Kevin added: “We are still yet to plant 30 per cent of our wheat and some of what we had planted has been flooded. It is a big worry. I think we will struggle. This is one of the worst harvests I have seen.”

The global market could also play its part as Kent farmers compete with wheat growers around the world.

Kevin added: “We produce a fairly modest amount of wheat globally and our weather problems do not actually affect the global price.

“Farmers here would be feeling very vulnerable if the harvest worldwide was good and prices were set low.

"You could see farmers move into losses through no fault of their own. And they could be significant losses.”

The price of food seems to be going up and up. What do you think of this issue? Email sittingbourne@thekmgroup.co.uk