Ranch Owner Turns Spread Over to School
Al Smith’s 3,300-acre ranch runs for more than three miles along the rugged Pacific coastline, 15 miles north of Santa Cruz. It is his favorite place on earth.
To save it “from the developers and freeways and give young people a place to learn by doing,” Smith, 68, wants to give it to his alma mater, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.
He has given the idea plenty of thought.
“I’ve had a successful life. Never been married, have no children. The ranch has been good to me. It’s open, spacious, wild. I don’t want it carved into pieces. I hope 100 years from now people will say what a nice place this is,” he explained as he sat in the living room of his hilltop home looking out over his lush spread.
So he has decided to give it to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, where he received a bachelor’s degree in 1944 in crop science and a master’s degree in agriculture in 1956. Smith taught high school agriculture classes in Manteca for a year and at Campbell for 17 years.
He left teaching to launch Orchard Supply Hardware, a farm supply business and chain of home improvement hardware stores in Northern California. When he sold out 10 years ago to the W. R. Grace Co. there were 11 stores in the chain; now there are 32.
Smith signed an agreement in 1986 to lease the ranch to Cal Poly for three years at $100 a year. He gave the school $1 million to operate the property and make improvements. The school and Smith recently reached an agreement for a five-year extension.
Lease at First
“When I die Cal Poly gets title to the place. But I want to make sure the ranch isn’t a burden to the school, that’s why I’m leasing the property at first to be certain Cal Poly really wants it, that it’s going to work out for them as a working ranch run by students,” Smith said. “If it isn’t right for Cal Poly I can change my will.”
The agreement is that agriculture students run the ranch as a profit-making commercial venture, not a research center as most university farms are. Agriculture students come here for a quarter or two, live here, get paid and learn by doing.
“There are Ag graduates of Cal Poly who never sat on a tractor, if a cow looked at them crosswise they’d jump in a pickup and take off,” Smith said. “Here they ride horses, herd cattle, run cultivators, hay bailers and tractors, irrigate, build fences, the whole shot.”
Currently, 10 students live in an old red farmhouse on the ranch, get paid $800 a month with free room plus $5 a day food allowance (they cook for themselves) and earn six units a quarter. They work from 7:30 in the morning until 5:30 at night, and longer if necessary, and half a day on Saturdays.
“At Cal Poly I have been taking 12 units a quarter,” said Todd Conrado, 20, a sophomore who is spending two quarters at the ranch. “Here I get credit for only six. I’m sacrificing a little time and will have to spend an extra quarter in school but it’s well worth it. Here you get away from the textbook and learn what it’s all about on a daily ranch operation.”
Ranch manager Deward Strong, 42, said that students work 150 head of brood cows. “They’re growing Brussels sprouts, artichokes, sea beans and pumpkins. We’re trying to keep as close to industry as possible. They are taught to do the budget. We’re working toward a profit. What money we make we pile back into the operation.”
Bought Land in Parcels
Smith acquired the ranch in bits and pieces over the years. He bought his first parcel, 412 acres, from money he received in an injury settlement. He had lost his left leg in an accident while working as a trainman for Southern Pacific Railroad in 1943 to help pay his way through school.
A lifelong rail fan, Smith has 1 1/2 miles of track on his ranch, a rail yard and a roundhouse filled with five engines and rolling stock he and his railroad buddies restore and ride on as a hobby.
“Obviously I love the ranch, and I have great affection for my alma mater, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo,” observed Smith, adding:
“By leaving the ranch to Cal Poly it looks like my dream to preserve this beautiful, unspoiled piece of coastal property will come true and the ranch will also provide a unique learning experience for farmers and ranchers of tomorrow as well.”
