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Harrier Fields 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

100% grass-fed beef, rotational grazing; climate-resilient agriculture participant

Project Title: Harrier Fields Farm
Ecoregional Location: Northeast US Coastal Forests, Northeastern American Mixed Forests (NA10)
Local Location: Capital Region
Political Location: Schodack, Rensselaer County, New York, United States

Biodiversity context: Capital Region farmland and the Hudson River corridor near Albany provide grassland, floodplain and migratory habitat; farms that stay in pasture and organic production sustain grassland birds and pollinators amid development pressure.
Ecological corridors: The Hudson River and Hoosic River corridors and the wooded Rensselaer Plateau link farmland to the Taconics and the Adirondack foothills.
Ecosystem unity: The site lies in the Northeast US Coastal Forests ecoregion in the Capital Region of the upper Hudson Valley, in a landscape of rolling farmland, river terraces and woodlots between the Hudson River and the Rensselaer Plateau and Taconic hills.

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 950 to 1,050 mm per year.
Temperature Extremes: July highs typically reach 27 to 29°C with occasional heat waves above 32°C. January lows average around -10°C, and cold snaps below -22°C occur in most winters.
Average Temperature: About 9°C annually, from roughly -5°C in January to 22°C in July.
Watershed: Within the Hudson River watershed, drained by the Hoosic River, Kinderhook Creek and smaller streams to the Hudson near Albany and Troy.

Elevation & slope: Gently rolling lowland and low hills, mostly between roughly 50 and 200 metres above sea level.
Landforms: Glacial Lake Albany clay plain and river terraces rising to the till-covered hills and the Rensselaer Plateau.
Soil Types: Silt loams and silty clay loams formed in glacial lake sediments (the bed of glacial Lake Albany) and till over Ordovician shale, with sandy outwash along the river terraces.
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: Harrier Fields 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: Albany (population about 100,000), Troy and Schenectady form the nearest urban area, roughly 15 to 30 km away; New York City is about 230 km south.