Old MacDonald may not be “bringing home the bacon” much longer, as the LSU AgCenter faces elimination of its swine, goat and sheep units after suffering a recent budget shortfall.
“Our budget just can’t keep up with inflation,” said Gary Hay, professor and director of the School of Animal Sciences.
He said it costs about $100,000 per year to operate the swine unit, and rising salary and retirement costs make it difficult to pay employees who maintain the facility.
The University’s College of Agriculture plays the role of teaching students, while the AgCenter, which is separate from the University, is responsible for conducting research and educational outreach programs.
Hay said the AgCenter was part of the University prior to 1972. When federal money from the USDA was being used for teaching purposes, the state Legislature separated the two and gave the AgCenter the mission of research and extension, ensuring that funding would from then on be spent properly.
The AgCenter still uses some of the buildings owned by the LSU System, though it is separate.
Hay said the AgCenter has always allowed the University to use the swine unit free of charge for hands-on work in some of the classes. But now the AgCenter can no longer afford its swine research and plans to close unless the University pays to keep the unit open and running, he said.
The only question that remains is whether the University will financially support the unit, he said. It has yet to be determined when the University will decide.
The AgCenter receives state and federal funding, as well as some from parish offices. Large amounts of grant program money flow in each year, yet they are only used to conduct research.
“You can’t write a grant for research and use that money to operate a program,” Hay said.
He said the AgCenter is the only part of the LSU System that has a statewide mission, including providing county agents in every parish that lead educational programs for citizens. It also offers 17 research facilities and is responsible for 200,000 Louisiana 4-H members.
Despite the center’s state program outreach, the loss of a swine unit will affect the University as well.
Laura Merikay Hoffmann, animal science junior, said the swine unit is beneficial because many of the students will have careers as meat inspectors, farmers and swine producers.
“So you can’t learn to do things and then apply for jobs in similar fields [if the swine unit closes],” she said.
Hoffmann said she takes a class in which 60 percent of the labs are pork labs, and 40 percent deal with sheep, cows and other animals.
Hay said the swine production classes would have to be adjusted if the unit is closed.
“You’ll have to learn to cut meat through a textbook,” Hoffmann said.
She said if the classes continued to use actual pigs for teaching purposes, the classes would require the pigs to be transported from other locations, requiring more funding and storage facilities to store the animals.
Hay explained the closure would not have a powerful impact on any of the required animal science classes, but having animals for hands-on experience is important.
He said most of the students do not come from rural places, so the swine unit gives them a chance to work with the animals – something they are not accustomed to doing.
Hay said the swine unit also sells pigs to other universities for teaching and research in human medicine programs.
 
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Contact Juliann Allen at [email protected]