April showers interspersed with warm sunshine provide perfect conditions for grass to grow at maximum speed. Listening to the whirr of lawn mowers it is easy to forget that it was grass that made Britain great. Its lush nutritious greenness fed the sheep that made wool our main export; many a village church and manor was built on the profits of wool.

Late medieval skills in managing early growth of grass on water meadows were central to this. After lean winter months, cows and sheep got a spring boost before moving on to other pastures. The farmer then gathered the best meadow hay at midsummer for next winter's fodder. Because grass barely grows at all below 5C, and needs plentiful water, April, May and June are the months to make silage and gather hay for the long winter ahead.

After years of more and more industrial methods, farmers are re-evaluating the merits of grass. It is rich in nutrients, grows fast and costs less than other feed. There is one problem: some cows have forgotten that they eat grass. Farmers are being advised: "Cows not used to grazing may stand at the gate for a couple of days and bellow – don't listen, they will learn to graze, as long as what you put in front of them is quality [grass]."

Perhaps the most surprising tip about growing quality grass in 2011 is that fields may need the added nutrient of sulphur, since winter fallout from the burning of sulphurous coal is no longer available.