The majority of the soil on the Estate is listed as Grade One (under the Agricultural Land Classification of England and Wales) and is therefore extremely fertile. Less than ten per cent of Britain’s soil is listed Grade One. This means that high yields are achievable.
The current conventional cropping includes winter wheat, oilseed rape and spring barley and oats. For the 2024 harvest the farm produced 10t per hectare of milling grade, winter wheat, 2.5t per hectare oilseed rape, and 0.10t per hectare of echium.
The Estate works closely with the local community and values the longstanding relationships with the local villages. In keeping with that tradition, the Estate hosted the East Kent Ploughing Match in 2003 and 2011. On both occasions this was a huge success, breaking previous attendance records with over 4200 visitors in 2011. In 2003 tours highlighted the innovative work of the Estate and were sponsored by Bayer Crop Science.
Kent Archaeological Society now hold regular archaeological digs at Lees Court, many running for several weeks. The Estate regularly hosts tours for a diverse range of organisations and individuals to showcase its work.
