ABOUT
Grass is a versatile and inspiring plant we couldn’t live without.
Yet it largely goes unnoticed.
About Sara Gregson
When it became obvious that my talents for chemistry, physics and maths were insufficient to get me to vet school – I turned to agriculture as a career path that would allow me to work with animals and in the great outdoors.
My grassland lecturer at Seale-Hayne, Dr John Brockman, was a passionate grassland enthusiast and editor of the British Grassland Society (BGS) magazine – a publication I later came to edit myself. As we left Seale-Hayne to make our way in the world Dr Brockman enrolled us all as members of BGS. My interest in grass ignited, I have been an active member ever since.
As an ADAS livestock adviser and agricultural writer, grass and grassland management have been an intrinsic part of my job. Rather worryingly we/the grassland industry are still trying to encourage farmers to adopt many of the principles and techniques I was advocating to farmers in Berkshire 30 years ago.
There is little doubt that grass lost out in the subsidy-driven era of UK farming. But times are changing – economic and environmental drivers are encouraging farmers to make new, better ways of working that will allow them to capitalise on the true importance and value of our national and natural crop.
I hope “talking grass” can play a small part in making this happen – as well as raising the profile of grass to other sectors it touches, such as gardening, food, sport, leisure and the environment.
- 2017 – Re-design of the “talking grass” blog
- 2015 – Runner up in the Steven and Gillian Bullock Award (Nuffield Farming Scholarships Trust)
- 2015 – Invited to speak at grassland farmer discussion group in Finland
- 2014 – helped develop and launch the new Pasture for Life mark for the Pasture-Fed Livestock Association
- 2013 – writes more than 100,000 words on grass and grassland management for UK publications
- 2013 – co-opted as a Director of the Pasture-Fed Livestock Association
- 2013 – speaks at the International Grassland Congress in Sydney, Australia
- 2011 – enters the digital world by launching TalkingGrass
- 2009 – founded British Grassland Society Grazing Partners Scheme
- 2008 – visited the amazing grasslands of Inner Mongolia, China
- 2008-11 – council member of the British Grassland Society (member since 1985)
- 2006 – won Nuffield Farming Scholarship to travel the world to look at grass!
- 1988 to present – freelance agricultural writer and marketing communications specialist
- 1981-85 – Seale-Hayne Agricultural College – happy days
- Pre-1981 – milking cows, lambing ewes and driving tractors!