Rare red poll cattle now living on Marrowstone Island
The herd at Twin Vistas Ranch was a donation — estimated at $25,000 — to the Washington State University Jefferson County Extension Office.
PORT TOWNSEND — A herd of rare and endangered breed of red poll cattle now call Jefferson County home after a donation to the Washington State University Jefferson County Extension Office this spring.
The herd of 16 red poll cattle are being cared for at Twin Vistas Ranch on Marrowstone Island, which will be one of the stops on this year’s Jefferson County Farm Tour.
It was a gift, estimated at $25,000, that WSU was happy to accept, said extension office director Laura Lewis.
“We’re hoping this is the first of many heritage livestock breeds we’ll be able to bring back to the peninsula,” she said.
She hasn’t heard of anyone else on the Olympic Peninsula who has this particular breed and said she knows of only three others in the state who have red poll cattle.
She said there are approximately only 1,000 of the cows left and they are listed as “threatened” by the Livestock Conservancy.
“There’s very few breeding animals left,” she said.
The herd was donated by Mike and Joanne Stewart, who own and operate Stewart Cattle Co. at Swanson Farm in Mt. Vernon.
Lewis said the Stewarts donated the herd while slowing down work on their ranch and preparing for retirement.
Research space
The 26-plus-acre Jefferson County farm was donated to WSU in 2012 and has since been used as a research space for germplasm maintenance and breeding.
WSU and the Organic Seed Alliance have partnered to develop a community gene bank system at Twin Vista Ranch that is focused on selecting, screening and managing organic plant genetic resources for the region.