Animal diseases like bird flu and New World screwworm continue to threaten the nation’s farmers and food, but rural veterinarians are in short supply—a years’ old problem the U.S. Department of Agriculture is trying to address.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins says the veterinary shortage problem isn’t going away– and could get worse.
“Debt for our veterinarian students compared to their potential earnings, a decline in student desire to practice in rural areas is real, and a rapidly growing companion animal sector, the lack of animal food veterinarians, is only expected to worsen unless we step in.”
In August (Aug. 29, 2025), Rollins announced a new action plan.
“We are making an additional 15 (M) million dollars available for the Veterinarian Medicine Loan Repayment Program and streamlining the application process to collect less information and allow submission via an online portal.”
Rollins says USDA faces its own shortage of veterinarians, attracted instead by private animal companion clinics.
“This inability to fill even our own positions in both rural areas and in the federal government is alarming and threatens our supply chain.”
Rollins says USDA will work with veterinary schools across the country to increase recruitment to farm country, hoping to create a pipeline for rural veterinarians.
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