Gore Farm

Gore Farm is an ambassador farm for the Kent Wildlife Trust, we grow Gala, Braeburn and Rubens apples and it is our only farm which is open to the public. Gore Farm is home to The Barnyard www.the-barnyard.com, we have a big collection of animals for all the family to meet, from reindeer to rheas to rabbits, a large restaurant, a farm shop and we are also a wedding venue.

Many visitors to The Barnyard also take time to walk around the farm; we have many information boards talking about our farming practices, the wildlife which lives in the orchards and the fruit industry as a whole. Gore farm won the East Kent Fruit Society orchard competition of 2011.

The orchards are part of a wider trial programme looking at the micro analysis of the soil – traditionally soil and leaf samples are taken every three years to see what nutrition is required for tree health.  At Gore farm we have taken 60 samples from each hectare, this has been mapped with a GPS system which works with fertiliser spreaders and the fertigation (liquid food delivered to each tree) to deliver precisely what is required in each 1/60^th hectare across the farm.  This has meant that we have reduced the volume of nutrition applied by making it specific, tree health and fruit quality has improved, environmentally it is good news as there is no excess and it has reduced our costs too. This programme is going to be rolled out across all of our farms and those of our 24 partner growers in the future.

Howt Green Farm

Howt Green became part of our business in 2008, it is planted with different varieties of apples –Braeburn, Gala and Fuji; we also have 2 orchards of conference pears and 2.25 hectares of protected cherries. At this farm we have invested heavily in new cold storage to meet the rising volume of fruit we produce, we have been able to build these with the assistance of a SEEDA grant. We work with International Controlled Atmosphere of Paddock Wood using the latest technology to ensure that fruit is kept in optimum conditions to guarantee a great eating experience to consumers.  Modern stores are more economical to run and have a greatly reduced environmental impact.

Milstead Manor

Milstead Manor – this is a new farm to AC Goatham, not historically a fruit farm, this is going to be planted with 170 of new fruit trees, there is currently 50 acres of Bramley which will be joined by 10 acres of Marribelle, 20 acres of Cameo, 20 acres of Bramley, 10 acres of Gala and the remaining 60 acres will be planted in 14/15 season with more Gala

Street – our old headquarters site, this is now home to a large block of storage and is also home to a large amount of accommodation for our seasonal staff

Shrubbery Farm

Shrubbery – near Sandwich.  This is one of our storages site and is planted with Cox, Gala, Braeburn, Bramley, substantial new plantings of Zari and Conference this is also the trial site for our new conference growing system.  The success of the pear trial has given us confidence to plant extensive areas of new conference pears at Elmstone court.

Flanders Farm

This is our headquarters site; where we pack and distribute 100% of our fruit. Our orchards grow a wide range of varieties which are destined for Sainsbury, Asda, Morrisons or the wholesale markets.

This site was purpose built in 2013 to meet the needs of our customers with an emphasis on sustainability, water and power efficiency. All rainwater is collected from the roof to provide irrigation for the orchards, all water used in the packhouse is filtered and re-cycled.

Working with Beba we have installed 848, 255 watt solar panels on the packhouse roof, on a sunny day this will generate 216kw of power, running our graders and stores for free during the day.

We have also worked in partnership with Robin Dean of The Red Beehive company in providing bee hotels throughout the Flanders farm site and throughout the whole business.  Solitary bees are the stars of pollination and we see it as imperative that we support the growth of the population of indigenous bees

The Flanders farm project is supported by the Rural Development Programme for England, for which Defra is the Managing Authority, part financed by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development: Europe investing in rural areas

Gibbens Farm

Gibbens farm is home to our main orchards of Kanzi apples. We also grow Gala and Bramleys

Griffin’s Farm

Griffin’s farm became part of our business in 2008; it is planted with Gala, Cox and Zari apples and Conference pears. The whole farm is in a countryside stewardship scheme; this means that we use an Integrated Pest management plan (reduced Pesticides) and through grass and hedge land management we work hard to raise the numbers of beneficial insects and bees who also help with fruit tree health. We have a large irrigation lake on the farm which is let to a local angling society; they tell us that the water quality is excellent and there good population of very healthy fish in there.

Elmstone Court Farm

Elmstone is our newest member of the AC Goatham family, purchased in the summer of 2013.

At present this farm grows conference pears, Gala and Cox, in the future it will be the centre of our pear growing operation.  We will be investing heavily in new Conference orchards, starting planting in late 2013/early 2014.  The trees will be grown in a Dutch system called ‘twin V’ this is a kind of trellis with each tree carrying 4 main leaders (fruit production boughs)set at opposing angles.  This system is proven to grow high quality fruit and is ideal for good pollination, air movement through the trees and excellent light levels, al of which contribute to good crops of high quality fruit.

Elmstone is also home to seven acres of wetlands, something we treasure and we will be working hard to preserve and add to this valuable area.

Mierscourt Farm

Mierscourt farm is positioned on the ridge over looking the estuary, it is planted with conference and Comice pears, Braeburn, Rubens

Ufton Court Farm

Ufton court is a beautiful small farm of 55 acres growing Bramleys, conference pears, Gala and Braeburn apples.

Pump Farm

Pump Farm grows traditional cox apples along with Braeburn, Gala and spartan, the farm is also planted with conference pears.

Titus Farm

Titus – near Rainham. This farm is going to be planted with 65 acres of gala in the Autumn of 2013

Thrognall Farm

Thrognall farm is just outside Sittingbourne, we grow Cox, Bramley and Gala apples along with Conference pears.

This is quite a traditional shaped farm, with smaller orchards that create a micro climate for each unit.  This helps with ripening and also in the control of disease.

Boughton Mount

Just outside Maidstone, Boughton Mount is home to orchards of Cox, Gala and Jonagored;  Jonagoreds are used primarily for juicing and baby food as they process well and have plenty of juice.

The farm is in a beautiful area and has some great views from the top of the ridge across the Weald