TRR photo by Tom Kane Charles Van Nostrand consults with his bull Elvis. (Click for larger image)

By TOM KANE

GRAHAMSVILLE - There are about 165 livestock farms within the boundaries of Sullivan County, the largest number among all farms.

"Many of these farms are part-time operations," said Cornell Cooperative Extension agricultural educator Joseph Walsh.

But many are not, like the beef farm of Charles and Jan Van Nostrand in Grahamsville.

The Van Nostrands came to the cattle-raising business very gradually.

"We had a weekend place in Claryville and began raising a steer for our own use," Charlie said. They boarded the steer at a nearby farm, taking care of it on weekends.

Then they received a request to care for and raise a steer for someone else.

"In time, the herd grew and we decided to move up here [from New York City] and try living the life of a full-time cattle raiser," Jan said. "It was a little risky."

Charlie had become involved with local politics and was spending more time in Sullivan County even before the move, which took place in 1981. In time, the couple began producing their own maple syrup and raising chickens and pigs.

Both of the Van Nostrands worked in the publishing business in New York City. Jan still produces a catalogue for a publishing house out of her home.

"I keep my hand in publishing and enjoy it," she said.

The Van Nostrand farm takes up about 250 acres on a beautiful hill outside Grahamsville. The herd consists of 50 cows and 20 steers.

They sell about 20 steers a year, which is their main source of income.

"We're not going to get rich, but we are enjoying our life-style," Charlie said.

An animal will sell for 70 cents a pound, live weight, meaning as it is. "Selling it as meat after slaughtering brings $2.50 a pound, or thereabouts," Charlie said.

An animal can weigh 1,000 pounds. "But it isn't all sirloin steak," Charlie said. The valuable meat on an animal is about 20 percent of its weight, he said.

Sheep farms are another kind of livestock farming common to the county. One of the largest sheep farms is owned by Gene Wyatt of Briscoe.

Wyatt, who has been a sheep farmer for 11 years, has about 200 sheep. "I used to have around 900 but it didn't pay me to have that many," he said.

Wyatt has his sheep shorn and slaughtered by someone else. A premium wool from his sheep, called merino wool, is made into yarn and sold along with lamb meat at the Farmers' Market in Union Square in Manhattan.

"You make more money with a value-added product," he said. Value-added means that something is done to enhance the value of the product. "You eliminate the middle man," Wyatt explained.

The products of livestock farms bring about $2.6 million into the county, according to statistics from the Cornell Cooperative Extension.