Castleview Open Farm (photos by Diarmuid Greene)

About the Farm

Learn a little about our Open Farm History

Learn a little about our Open Farm History. In the beginning, the farm in Cullahill, Co. Laois operated as an intensive beef finishing unit. This meant that Farm activity was typically associated with buying cattle, feeding cattle and preparing the cattle for meat markets within 100 days. Over time, changes to the meat market made this process less sustainable.

With rapidly increasing maintenance and machinery costs, the family looked to explore more sustainable and economically viable options for the family farm. After considering Dairy, Sheep and other traditional farming methods, the land block of 28 acres was just not big enough to make these work.

Three cartoon farmers in overalls, one holding a pig.

I was in secondary school at that time and we could see that the current farm system wasn’t sustainable going forward. The sheds and our machinery were older and deteriorating too. We had a 1979 John Deere 3130 doing all of the work and we used to zero-graze with a Krone wagon and mower.
It was always a dream of my mothers to do an open farm, but we thought it was a mad idea for a long time.
– Jack Saunders

Not shy of a challenge, the Saunders farm, run by son Jack, father Stephen and mother Margaret, shifted systems in the hope of achieving a profitable and sustainable edge as an Open Farm.

Castleview Construction

Construction Started in January 2019 and Castleview Open Farm opened on the 27th of July that year.

Although they had a good vision of what the Open Farm would entail, there was a huge initial outlay of costs for labour and infrastructure. After considerable groundworks and infrastructural development, the animals were now the focus. Understanding all the animal requirements was hugely important at this stage.

We started off with a good selection of Farm animals, play areas and a small cafe. Since this initial set-up the farm has continued to expand rapidly with new attractions, facilities and animals constantly being introduced. Today the farm is based on 14 acres with looped walkways throughout, boasts over 100 animals over a range of species with several play areas, a restaurant and gift shop.