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Herondale Farm

Northeastern American Mixed Forests Trust T1

Climate Zones: Humid continental climate at the transition between hot-summer (Köppen Dfa) and warm-summer (Dfb) types, with a growing season from roughly late April to mid-October.
Regenerative Focus: Regenerative Agriculture & Soil Health, Regenerative Grazing

About this land node

Grass-fed beef, lamb, pastured pork and poultry

Project Title: Herondale Farm
Ecoregional Location: Northeast US Coastal Forests, Northeastern American Mixed Forests (NA10)
Local Location: Upper Hudson Valley / Taconics
Political Location: Ancramdale, Columbia County, New York, United States

Biodiversity context: Columbia County's farmland mosaic provides some of the Hudson Valley's most important grassland and edge habitat, including for declining grassland birds, while the Taconic ridge to the east is a major forest corridor; farms that keep land in pasture, hay and organic production sustain that habitat.
Ecological corridors: Creek corridors, hedgerows and woodlots link the site to the Hudson River shoreline to the west and to the forested Taconic foothills to the east.
Ecosystem unity: The site lies in the Northeast US Coastal Forests ecoregion in the Hudson Valley lowland of Columbia County, a working mosaic of fields, pastures, hedgerows, woodlots and creek corridors between the Hudson River and the Taconic foothills, farmed since the colonial manor era.

Climate Zones: Humid continental climate at the transition between hot-summer (Köppen Dfa) and warm-summer (Dfb) types, with a growing season from roughly late April to mid-October.
Rainfall patterns: Precipitation is spread evenly through the year with no dry season; late summer and early autumn are slightly wetter, often boosted by thunderstorms and the remnants of tropical storms. Winter precipitation falls as snow, sleet and rain, and spring snowmelt drives peak streamflow in March and April.
Average Rainfall: Approximately 1,000 to 1,100 mm per year.
Temperature Extremes: July highs typically reach 28 to 30°C with occasional heat waves above 32°C. January lows average around -9°C, and cold snaps below -20°C occur in some winters.
Average Temperature: About 9°C annually, from roughly -4°C in January to 22°C in July.
Watershed: Within the Hudson River watershed, drained by the Kinderhook, Claverack, Taghkanic and Roeliff Jansen creek systems that flow west to the tidal Hudson.

Elevation & slope: Gently rolling lowland and low hills, mostly between roughly 50 and 200 metres above sea level.
Landforms: Glacial lake plain and till-covered lowland dissected by shallow creek valleys, between the Hudson River and the Taconic foothills.
Soil Types: Silt loams and silty clay loams formed in glacial till and glacial lake sediments over Ordovician shale and slate, typical of the Hudson Valley lowland in Columbia County; stonier soils occur on the hills toward the Taconics.
Renewable resource potential: Solar on barn roofs and field margins; composting of manure and crop residue; soil carbon in pasture and cover-cropped fields.

Land Acknowledgements: Herondale Farm lies within the homeland of the Mohican people, the Muhheaconneok, who named the Hudson Muhheakantuck, the river that flows both ways. We acknowledge the Mohican people and their descendants in the Stockbridge-Munsee Community, whose relationship with this land continues.

Regenerative Focus: Regenerative Agriculture & Soil Health, Regenerative Grazing

Nearest urban centres: The City of Hudson (population about 5,900) is the nearest city; Albany is roughly 50 to 70 km north and New York City about 170 to 200 km south.