25. The Dry Summer of 2026

A personal view on what is happening this year on the farm land on our Isle of Thanet. Writing this on the 18th of August, I had 5.0mm of rain in my gauge from yesterday. The last time I recorded any rain was on Sunday 29th June, 0.5mm. That was actually a wet week, we had 21mm on Tuesday 23rd and 6.5mm on Saturday 28th. As most will, this year is being compared with the summer of 1976. 1976 was just as dry but not as hot.

As in 1976 nearly all combinable crops were harvested by the end of July as they have been this year. The cereal harvest will be well below the expected tonnage. The wheat will have suffered badly on the upland ground in Thanet, this ground is commonly known as ‘brick earth’ and is classed as some of the best ground in the country, Unfortunately though, it does not retain moisture very well, and with the high temperature, it dried out very early. The effect this has on the wheat is that the plant dies before the grain has matured. The crop can look thick and healthy from the roadside but the grains will be small and shrivelled. The wheat on the marshes will have fared better as the marsh ground retains moisture longer.

The maize should still be dark green and between 2 to 3 meters tall and harvested during September. They have started already. Most that I have seen on Thanet upland and fields towards Canterbury has died, not because of the heat but lack of moisture, most less than 2 meters tall. Again, maize on our marshes will fare better. Although the maize here goes to feeding the Aerobic Digesters at St Nicholas and Richborough, the amount harvested will be well below normal years.

The potato harvest may be OK in our area as most farms either have their own reservoirs or bore holes. Farms are restricted as to how much water they can use, there are sealed water meters on all irrigation pumps to monitor the amount they use. This year you may see a potato crop being watered after the tops are gone and just prior to harvesting. This is because the earth that is sieved out by the harvester is so hard that it can severely damage the potatoes as they travel through the harvester.

Next year’s rape should be sown around the third week in August. One good shower is enough for rape to germinate but if it goes dry afterwards it can die as quickly as it germinated.

Just a little insight into farming this year. In 1976, when potatoes and onions were normally harvested in October, it started raining at the end of September. On Sheriffs Court Farm we harvested the last few rows of potatoes of our 1976 crop in March 1977.

Terry Marsh

Originally published in the Monkton News (September 2026).