NIFA invests $3.8M to strengthen food animal veterinary services

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) recently announced it had awarded more than two dozen grants totaling $3.8 million to universities and veterinary practices working to address shortages of food animal veterinary services across the nation.

On August 28, NIFA announced that it had awarded 25 Veterinary Services Grants Program (VSGP) awards: Education, Extension, and Training (EET) grants and Rural Practice Enhancement (RPE) grants.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is seeking to enhance veterinary service in rural areas through several programs and cash infusions, including the Veterinary Services Grant Program.

The EET grants provide up to $250,000 over three years to develop specialized training and educational programs, while the RPE grants provide up to $125,000 over three years to support veterinary clinics with equipment purchases to enhance services in shortage areas.

Grants went to the following six educational projects:

• Mississippi State University, $249,313, for a project developing a veterinary workforce to be successful in rural food animal practice
• Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, $190,864, for a veterinary science certification program in food animal medicine and production exposure
• Texas Tech University, $249,996, for a targeted communication and educational training program for farm animal veterinarians and veterinary students on enhancing adherence to postmortem procedures
• The University of Missouri, $248,297, for a mixed animal internship with public outreach components to prepare new veterinarians for serving rural communities
• The University of California-Davis, $249,807, for a project fostering next-generation poultry veterinarians at high school via gamification and discussion of a documentary in an underrepresented area of California
• Tuskegee University College of Veterinary Medicine, $249,602, for a project to advance food animal welfare and reproduction training.

Grants also went to the following 19 rural practices, all in the amount of $125,000:

• Antelope Veterinary Service, LLC, Richardton, North Dakota
• Cedar Creek Veterinary Service, LLC, Stockton, Missouri
• Cheyenne River Animal Hospital, PC, Provo, South Dakota
• Clay Veterinary Clinic LLC, Clay Center, Kansas
• Danielle and Earl Brady LLC, Orleans, Vermont
• Dr. Hailey Mueller Veterinary Services, LLC, Independence, Kansas
• Fayette Veterinary Services, LLC, Fayette, Alabama
• Firefly Veterinary Services, PLLC, Crescent, Oklahoma
• Four State Veterinary Services LLC, Newark, Delaware
• Harrison Animal Hospital, Weber City, Virginia
• Interior Mobile Vet LLC, Salcha, Alaska
• Jackman's Animal Clinic, P.C., Milroy, Indiana
• Hoof & Horn Veterinary and Acupuncture Services, Gainesville, Florida
• Logan Bethel Veterinary Services, LLC, Russellville, Kentucky
• Prairie Vista Veterinary Hospital LLC, South Hutchinson, Kansas
• Sandhills Veterinary Clinic, P.C., Arthur, Nebraska
• Sherman Veterinary Associates LLC., Hood River, Oregon
• Twisted Road Veterinary Services, Hayward, Wisconsin
• Western Plains Veterinary Service, P.C, Hays Center, Nebraska

The VSGP was established by the 2014 Farm Bill to complement the Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program (VMLRP) and aims to improve veterinary services in rural areas through education, training, and direct support for veterinary practices.

"Ultimately, VSGP will bolster the capacity of private veterinary practitioners to provide food animal medicine in rural veterinarian shortage locations," NIFA said in the press release.

Details about the educational projects are available on the NIFA website and details about the grants to rural practices are also available.

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