Home of rare cattle protected

Easement protects Artemis Farm from future development

A Columbia County farm trying to rebuild the population of the Randall cattle is getting protection from development under a conservation easement.

Cynthia Creech first established Artemis

Farm more than 31 years ago in Tennessee when there were only 16 Randall cattle left in the country, according to the partnership that has helped her secure the easement.

In 2004, she moved the farm to 120 acres in New Lebanon so the cows — first developed in Vermont and descended from the local cattle common in 19th-century New England — could live in a more suitable climate.

Creech said the animals “have not been manipulated by humans through single trait selection (so they) carry a full complement of characteristics and genes.

“In the event of a catastrophic failure in the livestock industry,” she said, “those characteristics and genes would be of value to re-establish breeds and herds.”

Randalls are deemed hardy, long lived, thrifty. They’re able to eat grass, weeds, leaves, acorns, raise a calf and live 20 years, making them ideal for the returning small, diversified farms today, the partnership said.

Creech has been responsible for growing the population to more than 300 cattle.

She’s worked with more than 20 herds, both large and small, and has sold single cows to homesteaders looking for a sturdy house milk and beef cow.

Creech and the partnership also worked to enhance the land protection with resale restrictions that ensure the property will always remain in agricultural production.

The partnership is made up of the Columbia Land Conservancy, Scenic Hudson and Equity Trust, and funding has also come from the state of New York’s Hudson Valley Agricultural Enhancement Program and the USDA’S Agricultural Land Easement program.