USDA awards $2.4 million to support rural veterinary services

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Beef cattle in the fieldThe Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture recently announced that it has awarded 14 grants through the Veterinary Services Grant Program to support rural veterinary services and relieve shortages of veterinarians in parts of the U.S.

Among the recipients, the American Association of Bovine Practitioners received its second grant to provide workshops on business management for recent veterinary graduates.

"Veterinarians are trained to be analytical problem solvers and as a profession are caregivers," said Dr. David Welch, project manager for the workshops. "Unfortunately, all too often they do not apply that same analytical effort and care to evaluate the profitability and sustainability of their practices."

The AABP designed the workshops to address this situation. The new round of workshops will have an increased emphasis on human resources management.

Overall, NIFA awarded $2.4 million in grants as follows:

Education, Extension, and Training

  • AABP, $238,270, "Manage your rural practice for success."
  • University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service, $94,385, "UA Cooperative Extension Service food animal medicine workshop series: Utilizing extension to provide continuing education for the expansion of veterinary services in shortage situations."
  • University of Georgia, $243,500, "Veterinary microbiology residency program at the Tifton Veterinary Diagnostic and Investigational Laboratory."
  • Iowa State University, $243,500, "Zoonotic disease prevention tools for rural veterinary practices."
  • Michigan State University, $245,500, "Improving food-animal veterinary service shortage situations in rural bovine practice through recruitment and continuing education of early-career veterinarians."
  • Pennsylvania State University, $243,500, "Poultry training for large and small animal veterinarians in Pennsylvania counties with a defined veterinarian shortage situation."
  • Texas A&M University, $243,500, "Texas Panhandle and plains rural veterinary practice revitalization."

Rural Practice Enhancement

  • Bear Lake Animal Hospital LLC, Montpelier, Idaho, $122,000, "Rural practice expansion and growth of veterinary services to the under-served agricultural entities of Idaho in the Bear Lake and Caribou counties."
  • Dutton Veterinary Services PLLC, Walton, New York, $122,000, "Dutton Veterinary Services NY-182."
  • Southwest Veterinary Services, Espanola, New Mexico, $104,845, "The goal is to provide veterinary care to under-served, low income community, with a large percentage of food animals that are not receiving veterinary care."
  • KN Veterinary Services PLLC, Clifton, Texas, $121,000, "Application to provide high quality in house, telehealth and mobile veterinary services to rural central Texas."
  • Mountain Legacy Veterinary Services LLC, Gunnison, Colorado, $122,000, "To demonstrate our commitment to the ranching community while providing excellent veterinary care and customer service with the common goal of ranch sustainability in a rural mountain town."
  • Stonehouse Veterinary Service LLC, Saint Clairsville, Ohio, $122,000, "OH182 enhancing the level of veterinary service in rural eastern Ohio."
  • Uinta Veterinary Hospital, Fort Bridger, Wyoming, $121,000, "Uinta Veterinary Hospital type II shortage area grant proposal, ID code: WY 184."

Project details are available on the Education, Extension, and Training grants and Rural Practice Enhancement grants.

Related JAVMA content:

USDA awards funds to support rural veterinary services (Jan. 15, 2018)

NIFA awards $2.3 million to relieve veterinary shortages (Dec. 1, 2016)

AVMA applauds gains in Farm Bill (April 1, 2014)