Farm routes

Farmers shape our countryside, influencing the character of Kent’s precious and beautiful landscapes, including the nationally important Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

The Kent Downs is a mixed farmed landscape which gives it a character that led to it being designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

By November, arable land will have been prepared with next years crops of oil seed rape, autumn wheat, barley, and beans as a fodder crop for livestock and grass may have been sown for an early silage crop.

A crop rotation cycle means that crops will not be grown in the same field two years running, to reduce the risk of disease and soil erosion, and to maximise soil fertility.

Crops may be grown to support other aspects of the farming business so maize may be grown on dairy farms where it is fed to the cows.

Farmers also anticipate how the markets might react the following year so they grow crops that will provide the maximum return. At the moment, wheat prices are around £100 per tonne, but last season, cost £120 per tonne to produce.

Walk through Kent’s farmed landscapes:

Pluckley - 4.2 miles (6.7km)

Harrietsham - 5 miles (8km)

Meopham - 4.7 miles (7.5km)

Sutton Valence - 5.2 miles (8.3km)

Edenbridge - 3 miles (4.8km)

Horsmonden - 5 miles (8km)

Syndale Valley at Faversham - 11 miles (17.5km) or 6.5 miles (10.4km)

Ide Hill - 4 miles (6.4km)

Shipbourne - 5 miles (8km)

Egerton - 3.1 miles (5km)

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