Cultivating Better Uses for ‘the Farm’

In a letter Dec. 18, M. Stephen Sheldon of Studio City said that the Pierce College farm and faculty are obsolete.

Hogwash!

What makes Mr. Sheldon think that the 300 farm acres are “wasted?”

It provides a rare protective greenbelt to heal the eyesore expanses of concrete and asphalt and replace critical oxygen in our polluted air. It serves as a refuge for the Canada geese and other migratory birds.

It serves recreational needs of Valley people. They hike and jog there. Weekends find families walking through the farm, especially to see the farm animals. If it were not for Pierce, these families would have to go to another county to show farms and animals to their children.

Mr. Sheldon harps on there being “no call . . . for highly trained agricultural workers.” How are we going to eat in the future if we don’t train our farmers?

Twenty years ago, I started taking classes at Pierce. My love of riding and learning horse management skills led to the creation of my own horse breeding farm. The farm was developed under the tutelage of Ron Wechsler, one of those obsolete faculty members at Pierce.

I have been running this farm for 10 years now. I get hundreds of telephone calls each year from adults and parents who want to own a horse. Each must be educated before they purchase an animal. This would be impossible without the backup of the courses at Pierce College.

STEPHANIE ABRONSON, Monte Nido