USDA awards $2.8M in 2021 to support rural veterinary services

The National Institute of Food and Agriculture within the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced in November that it had awarded $2.8 million in grants to support rural veterinary services though the Veterinary Services Grant Program.

One of the grants provides $165,683 for the educational project “Targeted training for veterinary students in goat medicine and production” at Prairie View A&M University, a historically Black university in Prairie View, Texas.

“The requirement to provide adequate veterinary care to these unique small ruminants has increased, but the opportunities for veterinary students to receive directed, intensive training in goat medicine are limited,” according to the project summary. “This project offers to address that deficiency by providing funds to cover travel and living arrangements to enable veterinary students in their clinical training year to participate in an externship at Prairie View A&M University’s International Goat Research Center.” The project also will create goat models to allow veterinary students to practice surgical procedures.

Grants went to another six educational projects:

• “CSU-UAF Hub Outpost Project: Educating for veterinary success in rural communities,” Colorado State University working with the University of Alaska-Fairbanks.
• “Veterinary microbiology residency program at the University of Illinois Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory.”
• “Expanding rural veterinary practice through continuing education in organic and non-conventional livestock,” Iowa State University.
• “Developing a food animal veterinary toxicology training program at Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine.”
• “Moving from meows to moos; recruiting teens to food animal veterinary medicine through education, experience, and engagement,” The Ohio State University.
• “Training the veterinary public practitioner,” Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine.

Grants also went to the following 10 rural practices or practitioners:

• Urban Livestock and Equine Veterinary Services LLC, San Tan Valley, Arizona.
• Dr. Amy Fousek, Weed, California.
• Animal Clinic West O Street PC, Ogallala, Nebraska.
• GKW Blue Valley Inc., Beatrice, Nebraska.
• Twin Forks Clinic Inc., Benkelman, Nebraska.
• Ellis County Animal Hospital Inc., Shattuck, Oklahoma.
• Headwaters Veterinary Service, Coudersport, Pennsylvania.
• Miller Veterinary Clinic PC, Miller, South Dakota.
• Playa Veterinary Associates PLLC, Panhandle, Texas.
• Old Dominion Veterinary Services LLC, Ruther Glen, Virginia.