Farming for Nature welcome Westmeath mother-daughter duo to ambassador network

Pen Saugnier and her mother Diana Pickersgill have joined the growing network of Farming for Nature ambassadors.

The mother-daughter duo farm near Mullingar, where they manage a mixed-organic farm with the help of their families.

The Farming for Nature network, founded in 2018, seeks to acknowledge and support farmers who farm, or wish to farm, in a way that will improve the natural health of the countryside.

Diana bought the land in 1993 and converted it it 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 that aspect of the farm. Pen manages the farm.

Diana says “planting forestry is one of the best things I’ve done in my life”.

As advocates for the importance of maintaining diversity on farms, Pen and Diana keep a variety of stock on the land but maintain low stocking numbers. They buy Dexter cattle and finish 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 two 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.”

The Pickersgill family open their gates for a Farming for Nature farm walk on September 8 at 2pm. Tickets available at farmingfornature.ie.