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Sawkill 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

Pasture-based meats and eggs

Project Title: Sawkill Farm
Ecoregional Location: Northeast US Coastal Forests, Northeastern American Mixed Forests (NA10)
Local Location: Mid-Hudson Valley
Political Location: Red Hook, Dutchess County, New York, United States

Biodiversity context: Dutchess County farmland provides grassland and edge habitat along the Hudson River flyway, near the Tivoli Bays estuarine reserve and Stissing Mountain; farms that keep land in pasture and hay sustain declining grassland birds in this landscape.
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 on the farmed plateau and hills of Dutchess County on the Hudson's east bank, a long-established mosaic of pasture, hay, orchards, woodlots and estates between the river and the Taconic foothills.

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 1,050 to 1,150 mm per year; the Poughkeepsie station records a 1991–2020 normal of 1,064 mm.
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 to 10°C annually, from roughly -4°C in January to 23°C in July.
Watershed: Within the Hudson River watershed, drained by Wappinger Creek, Fishkill Creek, the Roeliff Jansen Kill and smaller streams flowing 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 gravelly loams formed in glacial till and outwash over Ordovician shale and slate, the productive farm soils of Dutchess County; wetter soils occupy valley bottoms and former lake beds.
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: Sawkill Farm lies within the homelands of the Wappinger and Mohican peoples, who named the Hudson Muhheakantuck, the river that flows both ways. We acknowledge the Wappinger and Mohican peoples and their descendants in the Stockbridge-Munsee Community and the Lenape nations, whose relationship with this land continues.

Regenerative Focus: Regenerative Agriculture & Soil Health, Regenerative Grazing

Nearest urban centres: The City of Poughkeepsie (population about 31,600) is the county seat; Rhinebeck, Red Hook and Beacon are the nearest villages and small cities, and New York City is roughly 130 to 170 km south.