September 8 @ 2:00 pm – 4:30 pm
Farm walk & practical actions for nature with Farming for Nature Ambassador Pen Saugnier.
‘A productive mixed-stock farm working with nature’.
The Farming for Nature (FFN) farm walks are an opportunity for FFN Ambassadors to showcase their contribution to nature and good farming practices on their land.
Pen Saugnier farms near Mullingar County Westmeath where she manages a mixed organic farm with the help of her family. Her mother Diana Pickersgill bought the land in 1993 and immediately converted to organic. She planted 40 acres with a diverse multispecies sward. 5.8ha of land was planted with mixed broadleaf woodland and another 2.4ha of mixed broadleaf woodland was planted in 2018. The woodland is managed by a continuous cover system and Diana’s son looks after this aspect of the farm. As advocates for the importance of maintaining diversity on farms, they keep a variety of stock on the land but maintains low stocking numbers. They buy in Dexter cattle and finishes them on the farm. They keep a flock of about 31 breeding ewes, selling organic lamb to Irish Country Meats and direct to local customers. Two sows are kept on the land, along with donkeys and chickens. Silage or hay is cut every year. External inputs on the farm consist of small amounts of organic concentrates for some of the animals during the winter. Some oats are grown on the farm every year to help supplement winter feeding and to provide straw for winter bedding. The farm is quite self-sufficient, and the family grow vegetables for the house as well.
The Pickersgills takes pride in running a productive farm, all the while protecting and enhancing biodiversity on the land. Habitats include woodlands, hedgerows, wetland areas with 2 ponds, and orchard, meadows and wildflower areas. Subsequently there is plenty of wildlife on the farm including long eared owls, buzzards, pheasants, snipe, woodcock, hawks, red squirrel and lots of insects – “Last year we counted 35 different bird species before March.”
