Valatie Research Farm
This 129-acre research farm is located
one-half mile east of the junction of routes 9 and 9H to the north
of Valatie, NY. The land provides land representative of the Hudson
Valley region for applied research, teaching and extension.
This research site features different soil
types with very different water-holding capacities that are important
to crop producers in the Hudson Valley. The nearly-flat, gravelly
soils that formed downstream from melting glaciers (the so-called
"outwash" soils) are representative of the Hoosic series
and associates which are extremely well-drained and can be especially
droughty in dry seasons.
The soils whose tillable surface traces
back to materials deposited under the ice sheet are fine-textured,
silt-loam in texture, sloping topography and unlike the gravels
on the flats they present a problem of too much soil moisture.
The Bernardston series is one of these glacial till soils.
Background History:
1950's and 60's: A series of field crop experiments conducted
by Cornell faculty and regional Extension staff in the Hudson
Valley demonstrated the special conditions of the area and the
need for a permanent research farm.
1965: The site, at the time an inactive farm, was made available
to the Cornell College of Agriculture and Life Sciences by the
New York State Department of Mental Hygiene.
1974: Farm was deeded to CALS for use as a research farm.
