USDA is sounding the alarm regarding a nationwide shortage of veterinarians that is impacting rural America

    

Rising concerns about a nationwide veterinarian 
shortage is alarming rural communities.

(Photo by Michael on Unsplash)

A nationwide veterinarian shortage involving 243 areas across 46 states has been identified by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The record shortage is hitting rural communities particularly hard. According to a report produced by Iowa PBS, “The list of disciplines in need is a long one and includes rural mixed-animal practices, food-animal and livestock medicine, USDA and public health veterinarians, and some positions in animal rescue shelters.”

The report blames the shortage on a pandemic pet-ownership surge, rising educational costs and debt, professional burnout, and the benefits of life in urban versus rural environments. Laurel Bower interviewed several professors and professionals for the Market to Market show on the station. The recruitment issues were the same as those often mentioned when recruiting doctors for humans: the desire for personal time, time with families, low pay, lifestyle, or generally “work life balance.”

Minnesota veterinarian Dr. Jessica Fox reminded viewers that vet school grads are just starting out in life, maybe getting married and starting a family, and usually they are living in a city. “So, even if you had ideas of moving back home, maybe your partner doesn’t want to,” she said.

The report offered the surprising statistic that the U.S. has lost 90% of its large-animal veterinarians since World War II. Dr. Jennifer Quammen, President of the American Veterinary Medical Association told Bower, “Having veterinarians as the primary health care authority is very important to all of us …” not only locally but globally, with a “giant” economic impact. According to the USDA, just 4% of graduates are looking toward a large-animal practice.

Dr. Dan Grooms, dean of the Iowa State University College of Vet Medicine, summed the problem up by saying there is “no magic bullet” and that a variety of stakeholders will have to come together, including colleges, communities and state departments of agriculture. “Each of them probably have a little piece of the solution,” he said.

The U.S. and Europe are considering bird flu vaccinations for high-risk citizens; preparations are underway

Countries are considering bird flu vaccinations for
high-risk of exposure professions. (Adobe Stock photo)

As avian flu travels around the globe, infecting birds, wildlife, cows and people, some countries are considering vaccines for citizens in high-risk professions. Julie Steenhuysen and Jennifer Rigby of Reuters report, "The United States and Europe are taking steps to acquire or manufacture H5N1 bird flu vaccines that could be used to protect at-risk poultry and dairy workers, veterinarians and lab technicians . . .  moves influenza experts say could curb the threat of a pandemic."

The U.S. is "moving bulk vaccine from CSL Seqirus that closely matches the current virus into finished shots that could provide 4.8 million doses of vaccine," Steenhuysen and Rigby write. "European health officials told Reuters they were in talks to acquire CSL's pre-pandemic vaccine." Canada and the United Kingdom are also meeting with their vaccine suppliers to plan for pre-pandemic vaccines.

The newest strain of bird flu, also called H5N1, belonging to clade 2.3.4.4b, was detected in late 2020 and "caused unprecedented numbers of deaths among wild birds and domestic poultry and has begun infecting many mammal species," Reuters reports. "In March, U.S. officials reported the first outbreak of the virus in dairy cattle. . . .The Food and Drug Administration has estimated that 20% of the U.S. milk supply shows signs of the virus, indicating a wider spread is likely."

As more humans are exposed to H5N1, the chance that it may mutate and be able to spread more aggressively in human populations increases. Matthew Miller, co-director of the Canadian Pandemic Preparedness Hub at McMaster University, told Reuters, "All of our efforts need to be focused on preventing those events from happening. Once we have widespread human infections, we're in big trouble."

Reuters reports. "Dr. Richard Webby, a St. Jude Children's Research Hospital virologist who studies flu in animals and birds for the World Health Organization, said the situation in dairy cattle merits vaccine use." He told Reuters, "If we look at the exposure levels that some of these farmers are getting, it's high."

Rural veterinarians have an unusually tough and unpredictable job; the shortage requires multiple solutions

Ongoing U.S. rural vet shortages can threaten U.S.
food supplies. (Adobe Stock photo)

Rural veterinarian's perfect daydream: Cows never slam their bodies into you. Goats don't dig their horns into the back of your legs while you try to draw blood. And bunnies don't die of fright from routine procedures. Most "patients" get a little treat afterward. . . There's even time for lunch.

Rural vet reality: You work 10 out of 14 days and are on call during off-hours. You're treating colicky horses who require IV sedation alongside ungrateful cows with colds. Your back thighs are bruised and sore because Farmer Joe's goats hate blood draws, and you have to explain to your neighbor's 10-year-old daughter that even indoor bunnies can die of fright.

Given the overall toughness of rural veterinarian practice, it's no wonder the nation is experiencing a significant rural vet shortage. "Speak to anyone in the industry, and they will cite everything from poor mental health outcomes, high levels of student debt, long, often unpredictable hours, physical demands, and difficult clients," reports Lewis Kendall of Ambrook Research. "A recent industry survey found that more than 700 counties across all 50 states are experiencing potential large animal veterinarian shortages."

The shortage has multiple causes and requires varied approaches to be effectively addressed. Oklahoma State University's College of Veterinary Medicine is "piloting a new program that it hopes will help better understand the scale of the issue and offer practical solutions," Kendall writes. "Known as the Center for Rural Veterinary Medicine, the program takes a three-pronged approach: academic research, education, and training for student vets specific to rural environments."

Explaining OSU's philosophy, Martin Furr, assistant dean of clinical programs at the College of Veterinary Medicine, told Kendall, "We need to approach this problem of the rural veterinary shortage in the same way: a scholarly approach, understanding the problems, the dynamics, what is going on, and then developing a strategy to fix it. . . . I would hope that this would be a model for how other universities start to think about the problem and develop their own approaches."

Sarah Wagner spent five years as a large animal veterinarian in rural Virginia before moving into academics, where she is now an assistant dean and a professor of pharmacology at Texas Tech University’s School of Veterinary Medicine. "Wagner has spent a lot of time thinking about the plethora of issues currently plaguing her field," Kendall reports. "She noted that as women make up the vast majority of veterinarians in the U.S., institutional problems like sexism — particularly in rural areas — and the gender pay gap have become increasingly prevalent."

Despite industry organizations working to decrease veterinarians' student debts, rural veterinarian medicine requires grit and dedication that can be tough to find. "Earl Brady, who owns a large animal practice in northern Vermont, told Kendall: "When you’re in school, and you have $300,000 of student debt, you have the option to go work for a small animal clinic and make $120,000 working four days a week with no on-call. Or you go to rural Vermont and start at maybe $85,000 and work 10 days out of a 14-day period and you’re on-call and you’re putting prolapses in in negative degree weather and chasing horses with colic around. It’s kind of a hard sell.”

The rural vet shortage has potential impacts for U.S. food supplies and supply chains. Read Kendall's full article here. 

More women veterinarians are needed to fill gaps in rural care, but they face issues with sexism and gender pay gaps

Dr. Bailey Lammers courtesy photo

Like many rural workforces that were once male dominated, female veterinarians face sexism and salary discrepancies even though they are now filling many of the shortages in veterinary care. Dr. Bailey Lammers "started her veterinary career nearly a decade ago in her home state of Nebraska where she joined a minority of women practicing in rural areas. At first, Lammers said clients were hesitant about her ability to care for their livestock," reports Lilley Halloran of Harvest Public Media. Lammers told Halloran, "There would be times where they would call in and be like, 'I don't want the female.'"

"Being part of a traditional family and a veteran of the Air Force, Lammers said she hardened herself to criticism from men and eventually built a list of supportive clients," Halloran reports. "Lammers' experience as a veterinarian reflects a national trend. In 2009, the number of women practicing veterinary medicine grew to outnumber men and has only risen since. . . . But experts say rural veterinary spaces are still largely dominated by men."

Clint Neill, a veterinary economist at Applied Economics Consulting, said, "Farming and ranching is a male-dominated field, and as a result, women veterinarians are unlikely to locate in rural practices and even less likely to own them," Halloran adds. "Neill also pointed out a pay gap among veterinarians who own their practices, with male owners making up to $100,000 more than their female counterparts."

Dr. Tamara Hancock, an assistant teaching professor at the University of Missouri School of Veterinary Medicine, believes that "discrimination based on gender is the only explanation for the lingering gap in wages," Halloran reports. "Experts warn more veterinarians are needed across the board. . . . Lammers anticipates even rural industries are bound to be dominated by women soon, given the high number of women entering veterinary schools."

Lammers told Halloran, "Whether the older generation likes it or not, we're going to need everybody to help, you know, raise animals and keep them healthy and keep our food supply healthy."

Kentucky has 15 veterinarians who are at least 85 years old; they're helping to offset the shortage in rural areas

At 85 years old, Dr. Gary Tran continues to practice.
(Photo by Michael Clevenger, Courier Journal)

The national veterinarian shortage could be even worse if it weren't for a number of people who continue practicing long past the traditional retirement age. "There are 15 licensed vets in the Bluegrass State over 85 years old . . . .These are doctors who have stayed with it as the shortage ballooned to plague more than 72% of rural Kentucky," reports Maggie Menderski of The Courier Journal. Three longtime veterinarians answered The Courier Journal's request for their professional insights.

"Being a vet certainly isn't a glamorous profession," Menderski reports. "The payoff never quite matched the hours they spent working or the schooling needed to become a veterinarian." All agreed that the profession's long hours and changes in veterinary educational costs have contributed to the country's rural vet shortage.

Dr. Gary Tran, 93, has kept his Marshall County practice going and adapted it to the needs of his community. "Tran, who immigrated to the United States during the Vietnam War, and his wife lived in a small house and raised five children. She worked in a factory and a restaurant to help make ends meet," Menderski writes. "After watching the hours their father kept at the emergency clinic, none of his children had any interest in studying veterinary medicine. Instead, all five became engineers."

Dr. Luel Overstreet in Henderson County is roughly eight years younger than Tran, and he has kept doing surgeries. "Working as a vet isn't just a career to him at this point. He's been treating animals and helping pet owners in Henderson, in some cases, for four generations," Menderski writes. "Overstreet doesn't recall just how much it cost for him to attend Auburn University in the 1960s, but in between semesters, he was able to make enough money to pay for his schooling by working in tobacco fields, baling hay and raising cattle. . . .The most dedicated veterinary student wouldn't be able to pay tuition off doing those same jobs today."

For Dr. Robert McCrory, who still practices in Benton County, "There were times he'd travel 20 miles to deliver a calf for $6," Menderski writes. "He worked from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday to Saturday and then split shifts on Sundays." McCrory told Menderski: "Back then, you didn't think anything of it because farmers work from daylight to dark."

Many new graduates do not want to work those schedules. "The schedule is one of the biggest changes they've seen in the modern generation of veterinarians," Menderski reports. "Vets today often have a mound of debt to pay off while starting their careers. The average student debt for all veterinary medicine graduates was $147,258 in 2022, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association. Tran, Overstreet and McCrory all graduated and started their careers decades ago debt-free."

A lack of rural veterinarians puts farms and animals at risk; Congress is considering a plan to address the problem

Student loan burdens can keep new veterinarians
from choosing a rural practice. (AVMA photo)

This narrative appeared in Farm Progress: "445-2511. Long ago, I committed that number to memory," recalls Holly Spangler. "Those were the days well before phones in pockets, when I was a kid with fast legs who could be sent from the lower barn back up the hill to the house with a mission: Call the veterinarian. Near 35 years later, the feel of that number washes over me like an old friend. It's never good when you need a vet. But when they get there? Relief. They'll know what to do."

The "relief" that only a knowledgeable rural veterinarian can give is being threatened for rural areas nationwide. "Rural kids simply aren't applying to vet school," Spangler writes. "Most farm kids dream of being a vet, at least until the reality of biochemistry and eight years of school sets in. . . . At the same time, fewer young people from rural areas want to be large-animal vets. The University of Illinois may be graduating twice as many vet students compared to 30 years ago, but the majority go into small-animal practice instead of large-animal or rural mixed practice."

Besides tough hours and dangerous work, research has found that finances, particularly the burden of student loans, prevent young veterinarians from practicing in rural areas, reports the American Veterinarian Medical Association. "There are veterinarians who want to work in rural areas of America but are unable to do so — for financial reasons. The great news is that legislation pending in Congress would make it more feasible for them," through the Rural Veterinary Workforce Act bill.

If passed, the bill includes "legislation that would extend the reach of the popular Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program to help more food animal and public health veterinarians relocate to rural areas facing veterinary shortages," AVMA reports. 

Currently, the program "helps veterinarians set up practice in locations designated as veterinary shortage areas by the Department of Agriculture. It does this by promising to pay off up to $75,000 of each veterinarian's student loans if they practice in the shortage area for three years," AVMA reports. But despite its benefits, there are still not enough rural vets. "The bipartisan Rural Veterinary Workforce Act would go a long way to rectify the situation. By treating VMLRP awards the same as equivalent awards made to physicians and other human health care providers, it would free up significant funds for new recipients."

To read Spangler's complete essay, "Long live the rural veterinarian," click here. To find out more about the Rural Veterinary Workforce Act, including other options, click here. 

Veterinarians face pet owners who reject vaccinations; research shows fewer vaccinations could be dangerous

Forty percent of dog owners distrust vaccines, new research
shows. (Photo by Karsten Winegeart, Unsplash)

New research shows that more pet owners are resisting traditional vaccines, which could cause disease outbreaks in animals and people. "Researchers who have studied vaccine hesitancy since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic say a growing body of evidence shows a surprisingly high level of mistrust among pet owners over vaccines for cats and dogs," reports Stephanie Armour of The Wall Street Journal. "Almost 40% of dog owners believe that canine vaccines are unsafe, more than 20% believe these vaccines are ineffective and 30% consider them to be medically unnecessary, according to a new study published in the journal Vaccine."

Commenting on the study's anti-vax skew, its lead author, Matthew Motta, an assistant professor of health law, policy and management at Boston University, told Armour, "We were shocked. In a world where mandates are being dialed back, and more pets go unvaccinated. . . .That’s a threat to our pets but also a public health threat to you and me.”

If fewer animals are vaccinated, the chance for previously controlled diseases such as rabies to return dramatically increases. Rena Carlson, a veterinarian and president of the American Veterinary Medical Association, told Armour, "We’re going to see more and more disease as we see vaccine compliance drop. . . . Vaccines can really prevent severe disease.” Armour reports, "Seventy percent of dogs in a population should be vaccinated against rabies to prevent outbreaks, according to the World Health Organization."

Social media postings about the potential harm vaccines "could do" has contributed to the anti-vaccine movement. Armour writes, "A pet owner in California with a Chihuahua said she always takes her dogs 'off the system' because she said vaccines can cause cancer, seizures or death. . . . Misinformation and misperceptions are driving a lot of the skepticism, veterinarians say. Thirty-seven percent of dog owners believe vaccines could cause cognitive problems such as autism, according to the study in Vaccine. No scientific data exists that validates the risk for people or animals."

There aren't enough rural veterinarians; new legislation sets out a plan to attract new graduates

Rural America needs more veterinarians.

(Farm Journal photo)

Forty years ago, there were plenty of country veterinarians to care for livestock and other food animals. That's no longer the case and lawmakers are working to address the issue. "New legislation has been introduced to address the critical shortage of veterinarians practicing in rural America," reports Rhonda Brooks of Farm Journal. The bipartisan legislation, the Rural Veterinary Workforce Act S.2829, was introduced this past week as a plan to address the steep decline of veterinarians practicing in rural areas. "A report commissioned by Farm Journal Foundation in 2022, noted that more than 500 counties across the U.S. have shortages of food animal veterinarians." 

The act would provide student loan tax benefits for graduates who choose  rural practice. The break helps "give more veterinarians the opportunity to practice in small, rural communities where their services are needed most," Brooks reports. "This change would reflect similar exemptions provided to medical doctors and other human health practitioners."

The lack of food animal veterinarians isn't just about farmers and animals; it can affect the public's food supply. Cornell University's Dr. Clinton Neill told Brooks, "The decline in food animal veterinarians in rural areas heightens concerns for several risks, including food safety threats, animal disease outbreaks, the potential passing of animal diseases to human populations, and decreasing rural economic growth. In essence, veterinarians protect the whole of the human and animal population, so it is critical that we have a strong pipeline of practitioners to work in rural areas."

Reasons new vet school graduates steer away from rural practice include "high levels of education debt that have outpaced potential earnings, especially in the rural U.S.," Brooks explains. "[The legislation] is encouraging more veterinarians to pursue companion animal practices and work in urban and suburban areas where incomes are often higher."

Legislation sponsors: Debbie Stabenow (D), John Boozman (R), Susan Collins (R), Mike Crapo (R), Kirsten Gillibrand (D), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R), Angus King (I), Amy Klobuchar (D), Jerry Moran (R), Lisa Murkowski (R), Patty Murray (D), James Risch (R), Tina Smith (D)

Livestock antibiotics will need a veterinarian's prescription

Photo by Harry Grout, Unsplash

Beginning in June, livestock farmers must change how they obtain antibiotics. "Most over-the-counter livestock antibiotic medications will no longer be available for purchase without a veterinary prescription," reports Courtney Love of Successful Farming. "Since 2017, the Food and Drug Administration has been trying to bring all approved livestock antibiotics under veterinary oversight. . . . This is the final phase of the FDA’s Guidance on livestock antibiotic labels."

It is also the end of a long battle to regulate the use of antibiotics in animals, driven by concern that overuse of the drugs encouarges the evolution of pathogens that are resistant to them.

Jennifer Roberts, a veterinarian with Boehringer Ingelheim, told Love, "The public has an interest in what farmers are doing to care for livestock, and there's an expectation that we are going to use antibiotics judiciously with livestock . . . . This regulation allows us to have a little more input on the farm and to have conversations with farmers about following medication protocol. . . . It will allow farmers to communicate directly with their veterinarian when using those products, making sure they're using the correct dose and following the appropriate withdrawal time."

Love explains, "Most over-the-counter medication for any species of livestock, including cattle, will be affected by this new rule. . . . However, there will be some exceptions for vaccines, dewormers, fly control. . . .The new regulation will also exempt over-the-counter products purchased before the June date and will be honored as an over-the-counter medication until it expires, says Hayley Springer, a veterinarian for Penn State Extension."

In response to the changes, retail farm stores may no longer carry certain medications. "Businesses that sell, dispense, or fill orders for animal prescription drugs must have a state pharmacy permit," Love writes. "Because of this, most brick-and-mortar farm stores might decide not to sell antibiotics once FDA requires a prescription, says Craig Payne, veterinarian, University of Missouri Extension."

Prior to June, farmers will want to prepare. "If a producer doesn’t have a veterinary-client-patient relationship with a local veterinarian, they need to establish one. This means farmers will have to find a veterinarian that is willing to become familiar with their farm and style of animal care by either one examination or timely visits to the farm," Love reports. "Producers should check the requirements in their state, as some areas have stricter guidelines. For example, South Carolina nullifies a farm's veterinary-client-patient relationship if a veterinarian has not seen the farm within one year, says the American Veterinary Medical Association."

"It's a change, but I think farmers will get used to it," Roberts told Love. "For those that have a relationship with a veterinarian, it's going to be an effortless change. For farmers that need to establish a relationship with a veterinarian, it's going to be a positive experience." Love adds, "However, Roberts acknowledges it's a change for most farmers that have valued the convenience of purchasing antibiotics whenever the need arises on their farms."

To thwart overuse of animal antibiotics, farmers will need prescriptions or a legal relationship with a veterinarian

Livestock producers who need to use antimicrobals, a variety of antibiotics important to their industry, will be divided into "the haves and the have nots" by a Food and Drug Administration rule that takes effect June 12, 2023, Rhonda Brooks writes for Farm Journal's AgWeb.

"If you have a valid veterinary-client-patient relationship, you will be able to get a prescription from your veterinarian to purchase antimicrobials from them or a distributor and use them," Brooks reports. "If you don’t have a relationship with a licensed veterinarian, you won’t be able to purchase such products, many of which have long been available over the counter."

The rule applies to "injectables such as penicillin, sulfa-based drugs, boluses, intramammary mastitis tubes and some topical products," Brooks reports. Many other drugs were covered by a similar rule in 2017.

The rules are aimed to prevent overuse of the drugs, which can lead to resistance to them, said Sandra Stuttgen, a veterinarian and associate extension professor at the University of Wisconsin.

“Our survival rates on cancer and (other diseases) are great until a patient gets a secondary bacterial infection and there is not a drug to treat it,” Stuttgen said. “People die or have to have extended hospital stays then, and it becomes very expensive and very emotional. It's a huge social impact.”

America's 'cowboy poet' Baxter Black dies at 77

Baxter Black performs in 2010 (Getty Images)

"Baxter Black, the nationally popular cowboy poet, storyteller, and philosopher of rural life in America," died June 10 at age 77 at his home in Benson, Ariz., Terri Jo Neff reports for the Arizona Daily Independent. The family didn't specify the cause of death, but a January Facebook post from his wife Cindy Lou said he had blood leukemia and dementia.

Black was born in Brooklyn, but grew up in Las Cruces, N.M. He competed in rodeo through high school and college, and graduated from veterinary school in 1969. He was a practicing vet through the mid-1980s as he honed his skills as a poet and public speaker at Future Farmers of America functions, Neff reports.

"Black's first column was published in Colorado's Record Stockman in 1980. Several years later, he made his way to public radio," Rachel Treisman reports for NPR. In the mid-1980s, NPR played a recording he sent in of his poem about wildfires in Yellowstone National Park. Listeners loved the poem, and Black went on to offer commentary for "Morning Edition" for the next two decades. 

"When he wasn't on the air, Black spoke at conventions and events across the country, appeared on television programs including "The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson," wrote a weekly column and published and recorded audiobooks — of which Ag Daily says he sold more than a million," Treisman reports. "His column, "On the Edge of Common Sense," was published by more than 100 newspapers across the U.S. and Canada over the years."

Black retired at the end of 2021 due to health problems. "In his undated website FAQ, Black dodged a question about his top three accomplishments, saying, 'I haven't accomplished them yet'," Treisman reports. "But he did reflect on how he'd like to be remembered: 'As someone who didn't embarrass his friends.'"

Applications open for paid USDA summer internships for high school and up, virtual and in-person

Applications are now open for U.S. Department of Agriculture summer internships through the federal Pathways Program. The program offers a wide range of paid internships for students in high school through the graduate level with on-the-job experience, mentorship, and training tailored to each student's interests and needs.

The internships span a wide range of occupations, including veterinary science, engineering, natural resources management, finance and more. Positions are open in almost every state, and some are virtual. 

The deadline for summer 2021 internship applications is Nov. 16. Click here for more information.

Webinar on Monday, March 23, will cover what rural residents, especially farmers, need to know about covid-19

The AgriSafe Network's Learning Lab will host a free webinar at noon CT Monday, March 23, to share evidence-based information about covid-19 geared toward a rural audience, including farmers, ranchers, veterinarians, Extension Service personnel, rural health-care workers, and others who work in or with agriculture. The webinar will take a little over an hour, organizers say. Register here.

The webinar aims to familiarize participants with common symptoms of covid-19, explain the transmission risk between people and potentially farm animals, teach infection control principles and appropriate strategies for limiting disease transmission, and share infection prevention resources and training for agriculture producers. It will feature four speakers:

• Heather Fowler, director of producer and public health at the National Pork Board.
• Chad Roy, director of infectious-disease aerobiology and director of biodefense research at the Tulane National Primate Research Center and professor of microbiology and immunology at Tulane School of Medicine.
• Charlotte Halverson, clinical director for AgriSafe.
• Jeff Bender, professor of veterinary public health at the University of Minnesota; professor and director of the Upper Midwest Agricultural Safety and Health Center at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health.

A recording of the webinar will be available on the website within a few hours afterward.

Program keeps unwanted horses from slaughter

A vet examines a horse for the Horse Plus Humane Society.
(Photo supplied by Tawnee Preisner)

Tawnee Preisner has always loved horses, and grew up riding them in her backyard. But she noticed that many horses are unwanted and end up getting slaughtered (though not for human consumption, at least in the U.S). Because she lived next door to a horse trader, she saw how cheaply some horses could be purchased, and how much of a difference it made in their fate when they were trained. That's how she came up with an idea: buy unwanted horses cheaply, train them to take a rider, then rehome them.

"She launched NorCal Equine Rescue as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in 2005 to expand her rescue/rehoming efforts. NorCal's work grew from Northern California to the whole country and became Horse Plus Humane Society," Natalie Voss reports for the Paulick Report, a publication usually focused on horse racing.

Horse Plus has an open-door policy at its Centerville, Tenn., site: horses can be dropped off with no questions asked and placed for adoption. It also tries to intercept horses before they end up at auctions or sales kill buyers frequent, Voss reports. The organization also held 13 horse surrender events around the country where people could give up horses they could no longer afford to care for.

The organization's newest venture? An initiative "to stand in the gap for at-risk horses: its We Buy Horses program will use donated funds to purchase horses for sale on social media whose listing prices are low enough they may attract kill buyers or end up in the slaughter pipeline. Preisner anticipated the project would launch this summer," Voss reports.

Shortage of rural veterinarians has reached the point of posing risks to farmers, ranchers and the food supply

Large-animal veterinarians are critical for ranchers and farmers, but they've been in short supply in rural areas since 2003 because of low wages, long hours, and fewer new veterinarians wanting to live outside a major city. Last year the Department of Agriculture identified 187 mostly rural areas with a veterinarian shortage; the list almost exactly mirrors areas with a shortage of rural physicians, Esther Honig reports for Harvest Public Media.

Large-animal vets must inspect livestock before they can legally be sold for slaughter. The rule helps prevent the spread of illness among a herd or flock, or among the humans who eventually eat the meat. "And early detection is key to preventing devastating outbreaks, like the 2015 bird flu in the Midwest that led to the deaths of 50 million turkeys and chickens," Honig reports. Without large-animal vets, sick and infected animals would increasingly go untested, rendering the nation's food supply more vulnerable to disease outbreaks.

The shortage of vets isn't because of lack of initial interest: a recent survey by Mark Stetter, the dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine at Colorado State University, found that 30 percent of the students wanted to work in rural areas at the beginning of the program, but fewer than 10 percent actually took rural jobs after graduation.

Low pay is a big problem. Rural vets have the same school loans to pay back as their urban and suburban counterparts, but Bureau of Labor Statistics figures show that rural vets make between $61,470 and $73,540 a year, half of what they could make in a city, Honig reports.

Lack of after hours emergency pet care in some rural areas putting owners in tight spots

Astoria, Ore. (Best Places map)

Some rural pet owners facing an emergency are reduced to either driving to an urban center or waiting until the morning to see a local veterinarian, Erick Bengel writes for The Daily Astorian: "It takes a fairly large population center to support around-the-clock emergency clinics. On the North Coast, there simply aren’t enough pet emergencies to justify keeping an animal hospital open through the night."

Five regional vet offices in Clatsop and Pacific counties, with about 58,000 total residents, have an on-call rotation, with each office deciding its hours, Bengel writes. Some take calls all night, some until 10 p.m., but the clinics usually don't remain open all night. Dr. Brad Pope, founder and hospital director at Bayshore Animal Hospital, one of the five, told Bengel, "To have a 24-hour emergency clinic open, to pay somebody to answer the phone two times a night, would never be economically feasible." Dr. Dannell Davis, owner of Astoria Animal Hospital, added that "The people that have the skills, that are willing to work in the middle of the night—guess what—are expensive. You can’t pay them minimum wage. They won’t do it.”

That means pet owners in an emergency most likely have to drive to Portland, about 97 miles from Astoria. That doesn't work for pet owners such as Erin Anderson, who was unable to reach a vet after her cat had a late-night stroke and her night vision problems prevented her from driving to Portland, Bengel writes. The cat died. Anderson told Bengel, “I like the vets here. All the vets are very nice people. I’m not knocking any one of them. I admire what they do. I know it’s tough on a rural area. But it’s tougher on us whose pets die in our arms.” (Read more)

Student-led study examines conditions of county animal shelters in Ky.; 82% in violation of laws

Nearly half of Kentucky's animal shelters are in violation of three or more laws and 82 percent are in violation of at least one law, says a study conducted by college students at the Lincoln Memorial University College of Veterinary Medicine, located just across the border in Harrogate, Tenn. Supervised by professors from the University of Kentucky, the students visited Kentucky's 90 county-run animal shelters to see how they complied with the Kentucky Humane Shelter Act of 2004. (Map shows results of study; click on it for a larger version)

Shelters were given high marks for providing food, water, lighting, protection from weather and maintaining records. Most shelters were open 24 hours, posted hours and provided proper heat and ventilation. While 80 percent provided adequate space for animals, overcapacity was a problem, with 73 percent not having adequately sized shelters. Also, 42 percent lacked quarantine areas, 23 percent failed to accommodate cats, 37 percent of cat areas were deemed poor quality and 82 percent didn't have areas for large animals or livestock.

Researchers found the biggest problems were lack of funding and education and an inconsistent volunteer and workforce. Also, a lack of spray/neuter programs, cat overpopulation and low local adoption rates. Many facilities also were found to be in inadequate shape, with obvious signs of mold and one shelter that used a laundry room for overflow space, with a door that had been chewed by a dog and not fixed or replaced. Other problems were: a lack of veterinarian care; no safe area for puppies; unclean conditions; and unsafe night drop-offs.

Report: Awareness low among farmers and vets about FDA regulations on antibiotics in animals

Many livestock producers, economists, government agency staff and representatives from livestock, veterinary and feed industry organizations are unfamiliar with U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulations concerning antibiotics in food-producing animals, according to a report from Farm Foundation. The report was based on information gathered from 12 workshops, attended by more than 180 people, held across the country last year.

"A lack of knowledge about new policy requirements on the use of antimicrobial drugs in food animals, as well access to veterinary services are critical barriers to the successful implementation of these federal policies," states a Farm Foundation press release. Foundation President Neil Conklin said, "Despite months of work by organizations, agencies and media outlets, many stakeholders lack a full understanding of the policies that have been put in place by the Food and Drug Administration. This lack of knowledge is a critical barrier to successful implementation of the policies, which take full effect at the end of 2016."

On a scale of 1 to 10, respondents ranked their awareness of FDA's Guidance for Industry (GFI) at 5.7 and its Veterinary Feed Directive (VFD) at 5.8, states the report. Feed suppliers were the most familiar with both regulations, averaging 6.7 for GFIs and 7.5 for VFDs. Producers only averaged 4.55 and veterinarians 6.27. The highest level of awareness for both regulations was in the Northeast.

"Less than half of workshop participants were clear about their responsibilities under the VFD rule; however, 80 percent of the online survey respondents indicated that they understood the GFIs after being provided with information about the content," states the report. "When asked to identify the greatest barriers to compliance, online survey participants ranked the lack of education at the top of the list. The most common source of information and education is the Internet."

"Although many producers see their veterinarian as a go-to resource, many veterinarians are not aware of the impending changes and have questions themselves," states the report. "Discussion in the workshops pinpointed the lack of a responsible party delivering a clear, comprehensive and consistent educational message. When asked to describe the impact of the GFI and VFD rules on their day-to-day business, the second most frequently mentioned response of producers and veterinarians was a need for education," with 19 percent choosing that response. (Read more)

Final free workshop on antibiotic use in animals set for Oct. 22 in Lexington, Ky.

The last of 12 free Farm Foundation workshops on the stewardship of antimicrobial drug use in livestock will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Oct. 22 at the Hyatt Regency in Lexington, Ky. The workshop "is targeted to all pork, cattle, poultry and sheep producers, as well as veterinarians and feed suppliers in Kentucky, Indiana, Eastern Illinois, Ohio, West Virginia, Tennessee, Michigan and Eastern Missouri."

Officials from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture will attend the event to review policies and answer questions. Comments from the workshops will be used to compile a report "assessing the economic and physical challenges facing producers as they implement the Guidance for Industry (GFIs) and revised Veterinary Feed Directive (VFD)," states Farm Foundation. Workshops were previously held in Raleigh, N.C.; Dover, Del.; Albany, N.Y.; Birmingham, Ala.; Flagstaff, Ariz.; Amarillo, Texas; Ames, Iowa; Denver; Davis, Calif.; Rapid City, S.D.; and Twin Falls, Idaho. For more information or to register for the Lexington workshop, click here.

Large animal veterinarians are becoming a vanishing breed in underserved areas in the heartland

Large animal veterinarians are becoming scarce in the heartland, "as agribusiness changed the employment picture and people left the region," Ted Conover reports for Harper's Magazine. "Many vets simply close shop when they retire; private practice is too hard a way to make a living. Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service has become the nation’s largest single employer of vets, most of whom work in meat and poultry plants, where they oversee not animal husbandry but slaughter." (Iowa veterinarian Zach Vosburg talks with the owner of a cow during a pregnancy check)

"Today’s vet-school grads, about 80 percent of them women, head overwhelmingly to jobs in cities and suburbs, to work with pets," Conover writes. The main reason is that "fees aren’t tied to the market value of the animal; people spend more on critters that share their homes. With food animals, a farmer’s decision to summon the vet necessarily involves a calculation of profit and loss. In addition, the hours are better for an urban vet. A large-animal practitioner is usually on call twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week—and typical days involve a lot of highway driving."

Another problem is cost, Conover writes. When vet Zach Vosburg wanted to buy the north-central  Hampton Veterinary Center where he worked, he was facing student loan debts of almost $100,000. He gained some relief in 2013 after being awarded $75,000 from the USDA’s Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program, which "pays off $25,000 of debt each year for three years if a practitioner relocates or extends his practice to an underserved area. To meet these guidelines, Vosburg agreed to serve the residents of Butler County, just east of Franklin County, where his clinic is located."

The clinic is a mixed-animal practice, Conover writes. Vosburg told him, “Anything can walk through that door." Vosburg treats household pets year round, "but a surge of farm work begins in the fall, when cattle need vaccinating and preg checking, and continues through the spring, when cows calve, horses foal and goats kid."