FRANKFORT, Ky. – Kentucky is tops in the nation’s equine industry, with sales and stud fees generating $810 million in cash receipts. And Kentucky is home to 2.15 million cattle, making it the 14th largest cattle state in the nation, generating $656.71 million in receipts.

However,  the number of veterinarians in this state who can tend to these animals is on a steady decline.

“We’re growing our food here in Kentucky, and we need to be able to support that with our veterinary care for those animals,” said Dr. Katie Flynn, state veterinarian with the Kentucky Department of Agriculture. “Industry groups predict 20 percent of large-animal veterinarians across the country will retire in the next decade, and fewer students are going into large-animal practice, particularly in rural areas. That’s a real recipe for concern in places like eastern Kentucky. This shortage is only going to get worse. This is a national issue, not just a Kentucky issue.”

In the Bluegrass State, one in five counties are without a working large-animal veterinarian. According to the Kentucky Veterinary Medical Association, there are an estimated 200 to 240 such veterinarians. Kentucky has 47,000 farms spread through 120 counties, but 25 counties don’t have a large-animal veterinarian.

“We hope we don’t go extinct. We hope they revive us,” said Dr. Roger Wonderlich, a Shelby County veterinarian who specializes in treating large farm animals. “There aren’t many students who want to go into large-animal work and instead prefer the small animals.”

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, a possible national shortage of 15,000 veterinarians by 2025 is projected, the bulk of those needed in the rural areas.

The reasons are many, such as the unpredictable hours as a rural animal vet and the need to live in rural areas. Then there’s the cost of education involved and the mounting student debt upon graduation. 

Studies have shown that fewer veterinary students come from farming or rural backgrounds. Finally, experts said, the salary disparity between rural mixed animal practices and metro companion animal clinics remains a large factor. Rural practices require more on-call hours, limiting the work-life balance that is so crucial to younger professionals.

Several states, including Kentucky, Ohio and Illinois, offer loan repayment programs. Participating universities that strive to encourage more graduates to enter food animal medicine include Iowa State, Michigan State, Ohio State and Purdue.

“Through the Veterinary Services Grant Program, the state is also collaborating with Auburn’s veterinary school and the Kentucky Veterinary Medical Association for a project that helps with recruitment and support of veterinarians in rural areas,” Flynn said. “Part of that is a preceptorship program that pairs vet students with mentors in under-served areas. It also looks at financial and business models that could be successful in rural areas. 

“Veterinarians are there to treat the animal, they want the best for the animal. And that’s a struggle when there’s challenges of ‘you just can’t meet the need.’”

Help may be on the horizon, however. Just last month a bill was introduced in the U.S. Senate which would encourage more veterinarians to practice in under-served rural areas by eliminating taxes on federal programs aimed at alleviating student debt.

The Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program Enhancement Act was introduced by Sens. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) and Mike Crapo (R-Idaho). The bill expands the Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program (VMLRP) of 2003, which provides up to $25,000 a year to repay student loans in exchange for a minimum of three years of service in one of the USDA’s rural veterinary shortage areas.

The average cost of veterinary school fluctuates between $200,000 and $275,000. In 2020, the average student loan debt for graduates was $188,000, a 2.6 percent increase from 2019’s $183,000 average. VMLRP provides a helpful hand to graduates with its debt assistance, but the federal government was taxing the funding and veterinary advocates believe this obstructs the program’s success.

“Qualified veterinarians in agricultural communities across the nation are a key part of maintaining animal health and welfare, ensuring ranchers and farmers have access to care for their livestock,” Crapo said in a press release. “Overly burdensome federal taxes on the VLMRP limit the reach of the program’s benefits, and addressing those limitations would allow more veterinarians to have the opportunity to practice in small, rural communities where their services are in critical need.”

If it becomes law, the bill would end federal withholding taxes on program awards, which in effect would provide more financial help to new veterinarians and allow the program to reach more communities that need services.

“The proposed legislation is a common-sense solution to enhancing a program that helps address two of the biggest challenges the veterinarian profession faces – student debt and rural veterinary shortages,” said Dr. Douglas Kratt, American Veterinary Medical Association president. “Eliminating the tax on VMLRP service awards would allow more veterinarians to reach rural communities that need their essential services.”