Debate rages over uncertain future of Pierce College farm - Dana Bartholomew, LA Daily News

The fate of the 65-year-old Pierce College farm -- and its vaunted pre-veterinary program -- hinges on a campus debate over withering budgets, reduced staff and the health and safety of its herds and fowl. On one side are agriculture department faculty who last week threatened to close the 225-acre farm this spring unless the college can restore minimum farmhands required by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. On the other are college administrators who say the campus has enough staff to comply with federal rules for daily feeding and care of the school's cows, horses, goats, sheep and chickens - and that the farm will indeed stay open. In the middle is a tug-of-war over who has actual authority to close the farm. "I'll be the one who will be shutting it down this year if we don't get proper funding," said Leland Shapiro, chairman of the agriculture department and director of the pre-veterinary program. "I have to: I'm bonded by following