With the market for our specialist grass seed mixtures continuing to grow, we’ve expanded and reshuffled our sales team. 

Paul Totterdell has worked at Cotswold Seeds since 2000. Over the years his role has encompassed being on the mixing team, being technical advisor and managing the company’s IT systems. He is now Manager at Cotswold Seeds.

Lizzie Arnold and Sam Lane both joined five years ago, and many of you will have spoken to them on the phone to place your orders or ask for advice. It’s also Lizzie and Sam you’ll often meet face-to-face when Cotswolds Seeds are out and about at various agricultural events, including the Oxford Real Farming Conference and Groundswell, this year.

Sam studied for his degree at Harper Adams University in Shropshire, after which he worked for four years on Swinbrook Estate, in Oxfordshire, carrying out many duties including cultivation and drilling throughout the season. He provides farmers with advice on complex grass seed mixtures.

Lizzie previously worked in customer services for an IT publications company but was always drawn to a role in land management and the agriculture industry, having inherited her father’s love of farming and the outdoors. 

Lizzie is now Technical Sales Advisor, while Sam has been promoted to the role of Technical Manager. Meanwhile they’ve been joined by trainees, Abbi and Polly. 

Like Sam, Polly also studied at Harper Adams, leaving with a BSc in animal health and welfare. Childhood visits to a family friend and tenant farmer inspired her with a love of farm animals and an interest in their welfare. She helped with lambing and her dissertation focused on pig behaviour, in particular how to improve the welfare and rooting behaviour of piglets after separation from their mother. After graduation, Polly then went on to work at All Things Wild, before taking several sales jobs and getting engaged to Tom, who runs the nurseries at Kiftsgate Gardens.

Polly’s new role at Cotswold Seeds allows her to combine her experience in sales with her interest in livestock, and she’s particularly relishing the chance to learn about forage seed mixtures, such as herbal leys, that benefit livestock health in terms of nutrition, anti-bloat and anthelmintic properties.

Abbi, 18, has grown up in the Cotswolds’ farming community and is also interested in animal welfare, horse-riding and rural pursuits. She attended Cotswold School, in Bourton-on-the-Water before completing a Level 3 Management Apprenticeship at Cotswold Clubhouse, running the gymnastics club and helping to establish the new business. She’s enjoying learning on the job and particularly enjoys talking to farmers on the phone and working as part of our small, dedicated team of experts. 

Sam, Lizzie, Polly and Abbi all look forward to hearing from you and helping you to decide the right seed mixture for your particular requirements.