Regions all across the U.S. are struggling to meet the demand for food animal veterinarians due to widespread shortages. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) is working to fill those shortage needs through a loan repayment assistance program.
NIFA’s Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program (VMLRP) has helped American veterinarians repay a portion of their veterinary school loans in return for serving in areas lacking sufficient veterinary resources.
A total of 59 American veterinarians received VMLRP awards this year, including three from Texas.
One veterinarian will be fulfilling the private practice Type II shortage needs in Armstrong and Briscoe Counties.
Another veterinarian will be fulfilling the private practice Type II shortage needs in Coke, Crockett, Glasscock, Mitchell, Reagan, Sterling and Upton Counties.
The third veterinarian received a renewal award to continue to fulfill the private practice Type II shortage needs in Fannin, Grayson and Lamar Counties.
A total of eight shortage areas in Texas were identified in 2017, of which five were Type II and three were Type III. A map of veterinary service shortage areas by state is available online.
Due to the size of the animal agriculture industries in Texas, this shortage poses a risk beyond the state borders, as animals and animal products move across state lines daily and are traded internationally.
The VMLRP program helps qualified veterinarians repay up to $75,000 of debt incurred while pursuing their veterinary medicine degrees in return for three years of veterinary service in a designated veterinary shortage area.
Participants are required to serve in one of the three types of shortage situations:
‧ Type I are private practices dedicated to food supply veterinary medicine at least 80 percent of the time.
‧ Type II are private practices in rural areas dedicated to food supply veterinary medicine at least 30 percent of the time.
‧ Type III are dedicated to public practice at least 49 percent of the time.
For more information, contact the VMLRP via email at vmlrp@nifa.usda.gov.
Comments or questions related to the designated shortage areas may be directed to susan.culp@tahc.texas.gov.