BOISE, Idaho (RFD News) — Large animal veterinarians have warned for years about a growing shortage across rural America.
Dexton Lake with Idaho Farm Bureau says lawmakers are looking at ways to get veterinarians to return to the state after schooling.
“Utah State University has opened its vet program, but they’re also working on opening their building, and, as a result, their class size will double from 40 to 80 students. And so, we see this as an opportunity to be able to get into Utah’s program because Idaho’s a big state and not everybody wants to go clear to Washington state. There are folks who would prefer to go to Utah State, and so that’ll be a conversation that we have next year.”
According to USDA, more than 500 counties across the United States currently face shortages of large animal veterinarians. The agency says the issue spans 46 states and is at its highest level since 2010.
Beyond veterinary access, producers say animal care and comfort remain critical to the success of their operations.
Jennifer Glover with Mountain Fresh Creamery says creating a comfortable environment for dairy cattle has been key to both milk production and quality.
“It really goes back to cow comfort and how cows are treated on the farm. So that’s a low somatic cell count and a high butter fat. And so with us being able to really create a TMR to feed our cows, having our cows out on pasture whenever is available, having comforts for them when they’re not able to be outside in our freestyle barn, things like rubber matting, when they come up to eat and when they come up to drink so they’re not standing on concrete. We have waterbeds in our freestyle barn. In the south, we really have to combat the heat with cows. So that waterbed really helps them regulate their body temperature and keeps them comfortable, keeps them off the concrete.”
Glover told AgInfo.net that cow comfort is also a business decision, saying comfortable cows produce more milk and higher-quality milk for the operation.
