Livestock and poultry farmers across the U.S. are dealing with shortages of veterinarians, putting animal health and rural economic growth at risk. A large contributor to this problem is veterinary student debt.
The Farm Journal Foundation and Zoetis Foundation are partnering in launching a new program for relieving this debt. Their long-term goal through this partnership is to address shortages of veterinarians working with farmers in rural areas.
Farm Journal Foundation’s Dr. Stephanie Mercier and Dr. Zoetis Foundation’s Mike McFarland spoke with RFD-TV’s own Suzanne Anderson about the struggles rural veterinarians face, how their program is addressing these issues and how else they are supporting U.S. producers.
Related:
Program Helps to Ease Growing Veterinarian Shortage in Rural America
USDA has established a loan program to address a production veterinarian shortage
Meet a pig veterinarian who’s using TikTok to educate the public