Central New York Farmer Loses 50 to 60 Pregnant Cows in Barn Collapse

Richard Pedersen should be getting ready to welcome calves this spring. Instead, he's dealing with an unspeakable tragedy.

A massive barn collapse in Lee Center over the weekend has claimed the lives of roughly 60 cows, many of which were pregnant.

After the barn collapsed on Sunday, Collins Farm and Creamery issued an emergency call to the community to help the Pedersen family rescue their trapped cattle.

Read More: Multiple Barns Collapse in CNY, Cow Fatalities Confirmed

The Pedersens, who own a dairy farm off Taberg Road in Lee Center, were met with immediate assistance to the point a line stretched down the road of people clutching shovels and driving heavy machinery.

"Grateful for all those that showed up; the calls, texts, and shares. Getting the word out for help was huge," Collins Farm wrote in a public statement.

Prior to the barn collapse, the family's herd was about 100 Holsteins strong. Because of the tireless efforts from the community, about 30 of those milking cows were found alive.

Richard Pedersen, who is 77, spoke to Spectrum News about why this loss of his herd is so devastating. He had planned on welcoming about 40 calves from the pregnant heifers.

Now with just 26 surviving cows under veterinary care, Pedersen isn't sure if his farm will ever recover.

Pedersen says each cow lost was worth between $3,000 to $4,000.

He explained that over 10 feet of snow had fallen since the start of January, with multiple rounds of endless lake effect snow making it impossible for him or anyone to clear off his barns.

"[It] just kept coming," he said. When the barn finally collapsed around 1:30 that afternoon on Sunday,

The farmer had difficulty talking about watching the community extract cows from he rubble. "They were leading them out one at a time. You could see some of them limping a little bit, it was hard to even look at," he recalled.

"We’ve never seen nothing like this. It’s going to set us back for I don’t know how long to get back to normal," he told the outlet. "These animals have been through war."

Despite everything, the Pedersens are resolved to recover and have made it their goal to get back to how things were before Winter 2025.

Those able to chip in and help the family financially, can do so by visiting a GoFundMe that had been set up to keep the farm from closing.

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