STARKVILLE — Students in Mississippi State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine could see a significant portion of their student loan debts paid off year-after-year, thanks to a new action plan by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced a plan to address a nationwide veterinarian shortage Thursday morning at a press conference in MSU’s Wise Center, home to the College of Veterinary Medicine.
“The more debt they can eliminate and the more they can alleviate that financial burden, the easier the decision is for them to pursue (a degree at the College of Veterinary Medicine)” Sid Salter, vice president of strategic communications and director of public affairs at MSU, told The Dispatch. “… These funds should increase the amount of people who have the confidence to apply.”
The first step of the Rural Veterinary Shortage Action Plan is to make an additional $15 million available for USDA’s Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program, which currently pays up to $40,000 of student loan debt per year for students who commit to providing veterinary services in a shortage area for at least three years. The application process to apply for USDA grant programs will also be streamlined, Rollins said.
Ensuing steps will include gathering research to project veterinarian shortages in rural areas, pursuing strategies to make federal service more attractive for veterinarians “to create a direct pipeline into public service” and working with universities to increase recruitment from rural areas.
“Because of a significant increase in education debt for our veterinarian students compared to their potential earnings, a decline in student desire to practice in rural areas is real and … the lack of rural food animal veterinarians is only expected to worsen unless we step in,” Rollins said.
Rollins said rural veterinarians make up only 5% of the total veterinarian population in the U.S., compared to four decades ago when 40% of veterinarians were focused on rural large animals.
USDA has also faced difficulties competing with private animal clinics to hire and retain qualified veterinarians in both rural areas and in the federal government, she added.
Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith said USDA’s action plan was a step in the right direction for relieving pressure from the agriculture sector.
“I know firsthand the hardships that farmers face when it comes to veterinary care,” Hyde-Smith said at the press conference. “The announcement made today, it’s going to have a significant impact … but there are so many key issues to the health and the ag sector that it is national security. We have to be able to feed our people. We have to be able to feed this country.”
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