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WASHINGTON, D.C – U.S.
Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L.
Rollins today announced a commitment to new actions (PDF, 1.2 MB) to increase the number of rural food animal veterinarians across the U.S. and recruit new veterinarians to join the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in their role to protect American ranchers, animals, and our food supply.
Secretary Rollins also announced two awardees of the Veterinary Services Grant Program which will allow for expanded capabilities to serve livestock producers in rural Mississippi and opened a new consolidated USDA office with the Rural Development, the Farm Service Agency, and the Mississippi Farm Bureau in line with USDA’s reorganization efforts.
The Secretary was joined by Governor of Mississippi Tate Reeves, Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith of Mississippi, Mississippi State University (MSU) President Dr. Mark Keenum, and Mississippi Farm Bureau President Mike McCormick.
“Rural veterinarians are vital for the agricultural economy in the United States. Our farmers and ranchers rely on these critical services to prevent the transmission of animal disease, protect our food supply, and support America’s rural economy.
As the number of rural food animal veterinarians continues to decline, USDA is putting Farmers First to ensure we build back our first line of defense in our animal food production system – the rural veterinarian. With these new investments in scholarships and pay incentives, USDA is not only strengthening our animal food production system but also listening to producers and veterinarians across the country to ensure our programs meet real-world needs.
Together, we will keep America’s food supply strong, safe, and secure,” said Secretary Brooke Rollins.
“I applaud Secretary Rollins and USDA for making important changes to strengthen our veterinary workforce. As a cattle producer and co-chair of the Senate Veterinary Medicine Caucus, I know how urgently rural areas need more veterinary support. This announcement shows real commitment to protecting animal health and supporting our American farmers. Food security is national security, and this is exactly the kind of leadership we need,” said Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS).
“Rural communities are the heart of our state. They help feed all of Mississippi and our entire nation.
Whether it’s cattle, corn, catfish or something else, Mississippi supplies dinner tables across America every single day. Secretary Rollins’ Rural Veterinary Action Plan will go a long way in supporting veterinarians throughout Mississippi. The new office space in partnership with USDA’s Farm Service Agency, USDA Rural Development, and the Mississippi Farm Bureau speaks volumes to the kind of collaboration and coordination that is happening in our state.
Thank you to President Trump and Secretary Rollins for their continuous support of Mississippi,” said Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves.
“We remain strong advocates for our rural communities, knowing full well that the future of agriculture depends on access to veterinary care.
Without veterinarians, our farmers and ranchers cannot thrive, and without thriving farms, our rural towns and communities cannot survive. We are honored to be a part of this effort, and we know that our shared success depends on collaboration,” said Mississippi Farm Bureau President Mike McCormick.
“Technology is driving modern 21st century agriculture, and you can see that in the work we are doing here to advance precision agriculture. We’re at the forefront of unmanned aircraft systems research and development, as well as autonomous agricultural systems. I’m grateful for Secretary Rollins and her strong leadership and strong support of our land-grant mission of teaching, research, and service. As one of our nation’s leading research universities and land-grant institutions, Mississippi State is working with many partners to meet critical needs in our state and nation, as well as globally,” said Mississippi State University President Mark E. Keenum.
Relocating and Modernizing USDA Facilities & Ribbon Cutting Secretary Rollins announced a partnership with Mississippi Farm Bureau who recently renovated USDA’s Mississippi Farm Service Agency State office space and is working to bring the USDA Mississippi Rural Development office to the same office building in order to create a one-stop-shop for Mississippi agriculture and rural businesses. The new, modernized facility will save taxpayer dollars by consolidating federal office space while relocating employees to a safer, upgraded facility out of the downtown Jackson area. Across our operations, USDA is looking to prioritize taxpayer dollars and consolidate duplicative and costly office space. This move is part of our larger reorganization announced in July to refocus our core operations and bring USDA closer to the people it serves.
This partnership is a win for taxpayers, a win for USDA employees, and a win for the Mississippi farmers and ranchers we serve.
As part of USDA’s Veterinary Services Grant Program (VSGP), Secretary Rollins announced two new grant awards to help expand veterinary practices in rural areas of Mississippi: A $125,000 grant to Dr. Kimberely Klunk will serve Mississippi veterinary shortages in Adams, Franklin, and Lincoln counties. The grant will support community needs assessment, procurement of new tools to provide advanced livestock reproductive services for farmers and producers, and procurement of more efficient methods for transporting needed equipment to farm calls.
A $125,000 grant to Dr. Rachel W McCurdy Veterinary Services will serve Mississippi veterinary shortages in Newton and Scott counties. The grant will support procurement of updated diagnostic tools and equipment to ensure rapid detection of disease on upwards of 200 recurring client farms. The investment will also support more efficient methods of transporting equipment to farm calls, and educational outreach to enhance producer knowledge of critical veterinary services.
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 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 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.
