Discover The Kentish Farming Calendar

With the new farming year now underway, farmers across Kent and beyond are busy bringing in this year’s harvest and preparing their fields and livestock for another productive year to come.

Farming is deeply connected to the changes of the seasons, with weather and daylight hours impacting crop growth, reproductive cycles and harvest time scales alike.

Read on to learn all about the farming calendar in Kent and discover what’s happening in the fields near you each season!

Autumn

Autumn has always been seen as the traditional start to the farming year. This is because it is at this time of year that the harvest is brought in and fields prepared to be planted for another year as well as being when the tupping (mating) season for sheep starts. This was also the traditional time of year for new farm tenancy agreements to start, when fields would be left empty after the harvest.

Jobs taking place in the Autumn:

Fruit & Vegetable Harvest:

Apples, Apricot, Blackberry, Blueberry, Damsons, Elderberries, Figs, Loganberries, Melons, Nectarines, Peaches, Pears, Plums, Quinces, Raspberries, Aubergine, Beetroot, Broad Beans, Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, Cabbage, Carrots, Cauliflower, Celeriac, Celery, Chard, Chicory, Chilli Peppers, Courgette, Cucumber, Fennel, Green Beans, Kale, Leek, Lettuce, Mangetout, Mushrooms, Onions, Parsnips, Peas, Peppers, Potatoes, Pumpkins, Purple Sprouting Broccoli, Radish, Runner Beans, Squash, Spinach, Spring Onions, Swede, Sweet Potatoes, Sweetcorn, Tomatoes, Turnips, Watercress

Winter

Winter is traditionally a quieter season for farms across the United Kingdom, with seeds for next year’s crops in the ground and livestock on many farms being overwintered indoors to shelter from the worst of the weather and await the arrival of Spring-born lambs and calves. Despite being a quieter season, the work never stops for farmers! Seed sowing (also known as drilling) for winter arable crops will still be underway on many arable farms and the day-to-day routine of livestock care will still be ongoing all year round. However, these quieter days with less long, field-based jobs also present the ideal opportunity for farmers to work on maintenance jobs such as machinery repairs, fencing and hedge cutting.

Jobs taking place in the Winter:

Fruit & Vegetable Harvest:

Rhubarb, Beetroot, Brussels Sprouts, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Celeriac, Celery, Chard, Chicory, Kale, Leek, Mushrooms, Parsnips, Pumpkins, Purple Sprouting Broccoli, Squash, Spinach, Swede, Turnips

Spring

Spring has always been seen as a celebration of new life, and it is certainly the busiest time of year for livestock farmers with lambing and calving taking place on farms across the country. As the weather warms up and the grass starts to grow, this is the time of year that overwintered animals and their new offspring are turned out to pasture and when animals birth their young to ensure they get the maximum amount of nutrition in their first few months. On arable farms, things are just as busy, with Spring crops being sown (drilled) and vital jobs such as fertilising and spraying with pesticides taking place. For farmers with pedigree livestock, late Spring also marks the start of show season, which is always a cause for celebration and an opportunity to socialise with fellow livestock keepers.

Jobs taking place in the Spring:

Fruit & Vegetable Harvest:

Rhubarb, Strawberries, Asparagus, Brussels Sprouts, Cabbage, Carrots, Cauliflower, Celeriac, Chard, Chicory, Garlic, Kale, Lettuce, Mangetout, Mushrooms, Peas, Purple Sprouting Broccoli, Radish, Spinach, Spring Onions, Turnips, Watercress

Summer

As Summer gets into full swing, so does the arable harvest season! Fields across the country come to life, with combine harvesters and grain-carting tractors working through to the middle of the night to bring the harvest in whilst the weather remains dry. On sheep farms, shearing will take precedent to keep the sheep cool and safe from flies. This is also the time of year when lambs will traditionally be weaned in preparation for the ewes to go back with the rams in Autumn. Show season is now in full swing and all over the country, pedigree livestock farmers will be making the most of a very busy social calendar for both themselves and their livestock!

Jobs taking place in the Summer:

Fruit & Vegetable Harvest:

Apricots, Blackberries, Blackcurrants, Blueberries, Cherries, Damsons, Elderberries, Figs, Gooseberries, Greengages, Loganberries, Nectarines, Peaches, Plums, Raspberries, Redcurrants, Rhubarb, Strawberries, Tayberries, Artichoke, Asparagus, Beetroot, Broad Beans, Broccoli, Cabbage, Carrots, Cauliflower, Celery, Chard, Chicory, Chilli Peppers, Courgette, Cucumber, Fennel, Garlic, Green Beans, Kale, Leek, Lettuce, Mangetout, Mushrooms, New Potatoes, Onions, Peas, Peppers, Radish, Runner Beans, Spinach, Spring Onions, Sweetcorn, Tomatoes, Turnips, Watercress

No matter what the season, farms across Kent and the UK are always busy producing our food! From small family farms to large commercial operations, fields and barns across Kent don’t stand still for long. As we the days begin to shorten and the weather starts to change, we start the cycle of the farming year all over again!