Uploaded August 2024 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
'A Productive Mixed Stock farm working with nature'
Pen Saugnier and her mother Diana Pickersgill run a mixed organic farm with the help of other family members, near Mullingar Co. Westmeath. There is 40 acres of multispecies sward and about 8ha of mixed broadleaf woodland on the farm which is operated under a continuous cover forestry system. They have 28 acres of tillage with cover crops and tillage crops. As advocates for the importance of maintaining diversity on farms, they keep a variety of stock on the land but maintain low stocking numbers. They keep Dexter cattle, sheep, sows, donkeys and chickens. There is also a kitchen garden on the farm and oats are grown to supplement winter feedback and provide straw for bedding. Habitats on the farm include woodlands, hedgerows, wetland areas with 2 ponds, and orchard, meadows and wildflower areas.
Thanks to NPWS and DAFM for supporting this event
'A Productive Mixed Stock farm working with nature'
Pen Saugnier and her mother Diana Pickersgill run a mixed organic farm with the help of other family members, near Mullingar Co. Westmeath. There is 40 acres of multispecies sward and about 8ha of mixed broadleaf woodland on the farm which is operated under a continuous cover forestry system. They have 28 acres of tillage with cover crops and tillage crops. As advocates for the importance of maintaining diversity on farms, they keep a variety of stock on the land but maintain low stocking numbers. They keep Dexter cattle, sheep, sows, donkeys and chickens. There is also a kitchen garden on the farm and oats are grown to supplement winter feedback and provide straw for bedding. Habitats on the farm include woodlands, hedgerows, wetland areas with 2 ponds, and orchard, meadows and wildflower areas.
Thanks to NPWS and DAFM for supporting this event
![Healthy Soil is the Key | Homesteading with Jim Cronin [Chapter 11]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/gSC-OwT5B7w/mqdefault.jpg "Healthy Soil is the Key | Homesteading with Jim Cronin [Chapter 11]
Whatever you are trying to achieve on your homestead, healthy soil is an imperative
Farming for Nature is supported by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and the National Parks and Wildlife Service")
