The U.S. Department of Agriculture today announced a commitment to new actions to increase the number of rural food animal veterinarians across the U.S. and recruit new veterinarians to join the USDA in their role to protect American ranchers, animals, and our food supply.
Launches Rural Veterinary Action Plan to Tackle the Large Animal Veterinarian Shortage in the U.S.
Animal health threats, foodborne illnesses, and complex trade barriers underscore the need for highly qualified food animal veterinarians; however, the growing shortage of veterinarians at both USDA and in rural America is alarming and has the potential to threaten the safety of our U.S. food supply chain. That is why today, Secretary Rollins took the first step to issue a Rural Veterinary Action Plan (PDF, 1.2 MB) that takes the following actions to tackle this challenge.
1. Enhance and Streamline Veterinary Grant Programs
Effective later this year, USDA will make changes to the Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program (VMLRP) and the Veterinary Services Grant Program (VSGP) to streamline applications to an online portal and will increase funding for these critical programs that have proven success rates.
2. Analyze Rural Veterinary Shortages to Better Understand the Need
To make informed policy decisions, Federal and State governments need better data about the scope of the rural veterinary shortage, which is why the USDA Economic Research Service will study this issue and produce a report in mid 2026 to be used by USDA leadership and other policymakers seeking to address this crisis.
3. Recruit and Retain USDA Veterinarians
USDA has a shortage of veterinarians for over a decade. Rural posts, port inspections, and export certification roles are particularly hard to staff, especially when the pay offered by private practices in urban and suburban areas is more competitive than government pay. To address this, USDA is pursuing strategies to make Federal service more attractive to create a direct pipeline into public service for veterinarians. These steps represent an investment to ensure APHIS and FSIS have a mission critical veterinary workforce needed to safeguard animal health, public health, and U.S. trade. Options under exploration include special pay rates for federal government veterinarians, increased tuition reimbursements to better align with private sector incentives, and potential implementation of a recruitment bonus for federal veterinarians. USDA seeks to partner with universities, state and local communities, farmers, and youth groups to recruit the best and brightest next generation of talent and bring more jobs to America’s countryside.
4. Catalog Federal Resources Available to Veterinarians for Starting a Practice
Opening a veterinary clinic in a rural area often requires significant capital to purchase or build the necessary facilities or equipment. For many recent graduates of veterinary school, this significant investment is difficult after incurring debt to pursue the higher education needed to become a veterinarian. To better educate veterinary schools and recent veterinary school graduates about programs available to help finance clinics, USDA will catalog relevant USDA programs including Rural Development programs such as the Business & Industry Loan Guarantees and the Community Facilities Program.
5. Work with and Listen to Stakeholders, including Veterinary Schools, to Understand the Barriers to Entry and Increase Recruitment from Rural Areas
A low percentage of veterinary school students come from rural areas, or express interest in serving rural backgrounds, and an even lower percentage of recent veterinary school graduates enter into production animal practice. These are concerning trends and only exacerbate the rural veterinary shortage. To further understand problems and solutions, USDA will hold listening sessions between now and October 1, 2025, to hear from stakeholders to determine what additional actions can be taken to reverse these trends and recruit food animal veterinarians to USDA and rural areas.
These actions build on USDA’s commitment to ensuring rural America has access to quality veterinary care for large animals, critical to preventing the spread of diseases like NWS and building upon our strong food safety inspection systems that protect American families and our food supply.
