Home for new Guild member Sarah Carter is an 1800-acre arable and commercial sheep farm near Cheltenham in Gloucestershire, where her partner Henry is sheep manager.
“Days out of the office are invariably taken up by the sheep, particularly throughout lambing,” says Sarah. “But I also help out with the farm’s small shoot – even if it means dressing up in protective gear to handle a chainsaw – and find time to ride my eventing horse.”
Professionally, Sarah’s is another success story for the Guild’s Training Award Scheme for new entrants to agricultural journalism, sponsored by John Deere.
“I’ve always wanted to work in the agricultural industry but wasn’t sure which direction to take,” she explains. “After graduating from the Royal Agricultural College, I was made aware of the Guild and attended the training course where I was introduced to agricultural PR.”
Soon after finishing the Guild course Sarah started work at a specialist equestrian PR agency building relationships with the press in that sector. She also spent time as a freelance journalist and gained further valuable experience working in the marketing departments at the Royal Agricultural Society of England (RASE) and the Royal Agricultural College (RAC).
In August 2011, Sarah was appointed account manager at RDP Advertising & Marketing (see story), working alongside fellow Guild members Angus Chalmers and Matt Peacock and bringing her equestrian and other expertise to the agency.
“I am looking forward to working closer with the Guild and its members in 2013,” says Sarah. “RDP has a significant client base covering the majority of agricultural interests and I aim to use my agricultural background, combined with my marketing and PR experience, to provide support that’s targeted and well thought through.”
