Cal Poly has received a donation of the historic 390-acre Brughelli Ranch, located just south of the San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport, expanding the university's agricultural land holdings and student learning opportunities.
The working ranch includes leafy greens agriculture, livestock, irrigated cropland and dry farming.
About 60% of the property is classified by the U.S. Department of Agriculture as prime agricultural land, including 100 acres of irrigated Class I soils.
"This is an extraordinary opportunity to provide our students with a place where agriculture, conservation and natural resource stewardship come together," Cal Poly President Jeffrey D. Armstrong said. "The ranch has been cared for by generations before us, and now Cal Poly will continue that stewardship while preparing students to care for California's working landscapes in the future."
The ranch's water infrastructure includes four interconnected wells and a 7-acre reservoir.
The property is permanently protected through an agricultural conservation easement established in 2015 and is enrolled in the Williamson Act.
The land's history dates to 1875. Aurelio Brughelli began working the ranch in 1928 and later acquired it. His son, Ercole Charles Brughelli, was born on the ranch that same year, grew up there, served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War earning a Purple Heart and returned to manage the property for decades alongside his wife, Naomie.
Following Naomie's death in 2008 and Ercole's in 2023, the estate's trustees have overseen the land.
Cal Poly officials say the college already maintains more than 10,000 acres of agricultural holdings the largest of any university in California which includes the 3,200-acre Swanton Pacific Ranch in Santa Cruz County and the 92-acre Cal Poly Solano Campus in Vallejo.
