Pierce College animal program may lose its farm

The historic animal farm at Pierce College in Woodland Hills is under threat of closing this year, another victim of brutal budget cuts to California's higher education system.

An annual fundraiser scheduled for next month could be the last hope for the working farm where 114 head of dairy cattle, 350 head of beef cattle (including a Brahman bull named Clarence, the college mascot), 250 sheep, 250 pigs and 6,000 poultry (whose eggs were sold at the school's farm store) once roamed the hills of the west San Fernando Valley campus.

Now the inventory has dwindled to 20 cattle, 33 does and their fawns, 33 chickens, seven sheep and a ram. There are also three donkeys and a potbellied pig.

The farm store is long gone, closed years before the 114 head of dairy cattle were shipped to slaughter in 1990 because the college system could no longer afford them.

The feed for the farm costs more than $50,000 a year, and the school must also cover veterinarian services, medicine and the repair of aging equipment, some of which is more than 40 years old, said Dr. Leland S. Shapiro, chairman of the agriculture department and director of the pre-veterinary science program.

Founded in 1947 when the campus opened as the Clarence W. Pierce School of Agriculture, the farm is the cornerstone of a rigorous program that prepares students for transfer directly to graduate veterinary schools, ? one of the few such programsin the country.

The college already cut the farm's supply budgets by 25%, while the price of feed rose more than 30%. There's no thaw in sight for a freeze that prevents hiring any students and staff to help with the daily feeding, cleaning and maintenance required by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which regulates the animals' care. Students volunteer to work there.

"What will happen is we will not have the labor or funds to feed our animals if help does not arrive, and because of the financial constraints of the district, we would then have no other option but to sell off a large number of our remaining small flocks and herds," Shapiro said in an interview. "Will any animals remain? Most likely. Enough to properly educate the large numbers of students we have? No. Enough to still have a farm? No."

Pierce President Kathleen Burke-Kelly said there has been "no discussion" of closing the farm, and that the cuts are "equivalent to every other department on campus." Further, she said, "If the farm were a key element of the veterinary program, we would have to look at how that program would perform without that important resource."

The farm was once self-sufficient, when it had a working dairy and the milk was sold to pay expenses. It also used to collect tens of thousands of dollars each year from movies and TV shows, such as "24," "Toys" and "Little House on the Prairie," that filmed there. The college now uses the money it collects from filming for its general expense budget.

Although closing the farm would have little practical effect on students training to aid cats and dogs, it would affect those interested in working with farm animals. Without the hands-on training the program provides, students would have to get that preparation at more costly four-year universities before applying to graduate school.

"The farm is a huge part of the program and provides an experience you can't get anywhere else in Southern California," said Rashi Gupta, a second-year student and president of the pre-vet club who postponed her admission to UC Davis to get hands-on animal experience at Pierce. "Literally, the program would be as good as gone without the farm."

Over the years, more than 50 acres of the farm have been sold to outside entities and twice that acreage has been developed by the college for non-agricultural purposes, Shapiro said.

Shapiro, who started milking cows at the farm in 1971 and became a full-time professor in 1976, said he has no illusions that the financially crippled college district is going to pony up any more money or resources, but he is hoping the public will step in to help what has long been considered a crown jewel of the Los Angeles Community College District.

The farm is asking for donations in both labor and money to buy feed, veterinary supplies and equipment, he said. The district still pays the salaries of 2 1/2 farm personnel, down from the 10 full-time employees and 1,000 hours of student labor the farm had when it was running at full throttle.

amanda.covarrubias@latimes.com

Source: http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/news/science/~3/ALtCbKRLn1E/la-me-pierce-farm-20120312,0,7986158.story

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