Group Starts Endowment to Save Farm at Pierce

In an effort to realize its dream of a money-making farm at Pierce College before the school’s agricultural land can be leased to a private developer, a group of farm supporters has started an endowment.

The effort, spearheaded by the regional group Coalition to Save the Farm, aims to raise $10 million in five years, said the group’s president, Margo Murman. The endowment is being managed by the California Community Foundation.

“We’ve got $2,000 already, and it’s only been a week since we got up and running,” Murman said. The Los Angeles County Farm Bureau, an organization of farmers and ranchers, and the Calabasas Historical Society each contributed $1,000, she said.

Time is of the essence for farm preservationists, who hope to concoct a cash-generating plan to match other development proposals for 240 acres at Pierce, including one to build a golf course and driving range. Last month, trustees of the Los Angeles Community College District voted to seek proposals to develop the land to raise money for Pierce.

The golf course plan would generate at least $800,000 annually for the fiscally strapped college, an amount Murman said her group hoped to match with the endowment and revenue from a working farm.

Murman projected that interest from a $10-million endowment could amount to $500,000 a year. Additionally, cash crops such as corn and gourmet herbs could pull in another $300,000 to $400,000, she estimated.