A piggery at the Sneydes Road site, home to Victorian research and development on pig production, will close as part of the proposal. The farm has been used by the department since 1912.

Other facilities at Snobs Creek, Rainbow, Sea Lake, Charlton and Stawell will be moved and work will cease on broadacre land at Kyabram, Toolangi, Rutherglen and Walpeup.

The DPI plans to slash a total of 70 jobs from 10 of its regional sites, with the affected sectors including fisheries management, agrifood production and environmental health and chemistry.

In State Parliament last week, Liberal Western Metropolitan MP Bernie Finn called on Agricultural Minister Joe Helper to provide assurances about the future of the research farm.

Mr Finn claimed DPI staff had been called to a meeting several weeks ago to be told the piggery would close "at the earliest opportunity" while experiments and research would also be scaled down.

He said moving the chemistry laboratory to Tatura and the curtailment of agricultural and science activities were also part of DPI plans.

"There's one chap I have been made aware of who has been working there for 35 years and who finds himself perhaps to be thrown on the scrapheap," Mr Finn said.

"At the moment the situation is that morale is at rock bottom. Some of the management have called in counsellors to help staff face the difficulties they are currently going through. We hope that the land the research farm is on is not bound for subdivision. It would be a tragedy if this Victorian icon was lost for the sake of a few dollars."