focus onCOMMUNITY 22
All classes, offered at no charge to the student as non-credit Vocational Education classes, are a mixture of hybrid online and in-person and completely in-person instruction. The in-person portion of the class takes place on Saturday morn- ings at local ranches or on a 75-acre property owned by the college that is directly adjacent to the Cuesta San Luis Obispo campus. “We wanted to give students
the opportunity to see how things are done at a variety of facilities so that they fully understand why they are doing things and are exposed to dif- ferent ways of handling similar situations,” says Ingram. “We have been extremely fortunate to have local grazers, ranchers and producers as well as the staff at Cal Poly offer their time and open their facilities to our students.” Students get the opportunity to work with horses, catle, sheep and goats as well as receive instruction in interpreting land- use regulations and creating grazing plans over the course of each six- to eight-week class. The 75-acre property owned by the college has also served as a good example of how the use of grazing animals can promote a more sustainable ecosystem and help to mitigate fire danger. It has allowed Cuesta to be part of a nationwide study gathering scientific data related to soil health and grazing conducted by the Ecdysis Foundation. (info: htps://
www.ecdysis.bio/ ) “We have been able to have
RANCH ED CLASSES Shelly Ingram Associate Director of Instruction Ranch Education
www.cuesta.edu https://bit.ly/cuestaranched Direct: (628) 888-4012
students work directly with a local grazing contractor, giving them a chance to learn about grazing plans, animal handling, construction and effective use of temporary fencing, and what grazing can do to change and improve soil health,” adds Ingram. Cuesta also offers offer black-
smithing classes through the Community Programs Division and is always expanding the ranch-related classes through this area of the college. Cuesta already has a well-es- tablished series of Agriculture classes including Ag business, Ag economics, farm machinery and mechanics and a complete Plant/Soil Science facility at the North County Campus in Paso Robles. The school recently expanded the for-credit offer- ings related to Agriculture by adding Animal Science classes to the schedule online and in-person at the San Luis Obispo Campus with a goal of estab- lishing an AA transfer degree in Animal Science in the near future. In addition the college has
continued its commitment to the existing Rodeo team that had been led for many years by volunteers, Clint and Connie Pearce, when it hired an Associate Director - Rodeo & Ranch Operations in 2025.
MORE ONLINE: htps://
bit.ly/604cuestaag
Over the course of six- to eight-week classes, students receive instruction in a variety of areas.
COLLEGE AG PROGRAM Amy Stapp Division Chair, Agriculture Agriculture Business & Business Faculty Cuesta College 805-704-4728
Cuesta Ag Video:
https://bit.ly/cuestavideo
CUESTA COLLEGE RODEO Tyree Cochrane Associate Director Rodeo & Ranch Operations Office: (805) 592-9684 | Cell: (805) 503-9935
www.cuestacollegerodeo.com
The 75-acre college-owned property serves as an example of how use of grazing animals promotes sustainable ecosystems.
Courtesy photo
Courtesy photo
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