Effective August 31, 2023, the only large animal practice to serve the Connecticut River Upper Valley abruptly and unexpectedly dissolved. The four counties identified as the must/may-serve in Vermont for this shortage area are home to 41% of Vermont's dairy farms. However, the original practice was only able to regularly cover about 50 farms in the primary counties. This area is also home to 16 active small ruminant dairies. In 2022, Vermont nominated Orange County as the northern range of a High Priority Type II Private Practice shortage area. Despite that position being filled, this dissolution will increase need once more. The inclusion of Grafton, NH has been approved by the NH State Veterinarian, Dr. Steve Crawford, as that county had been primarily served by the dissolved practice and also affected by this void. Dairy farms rely on accredited veterinarians for regular herd health management, prescription drug oversight, infectious disease surveillance, and animal movements nationally and internationally. Without regular and reliable service, every aspect of the farm's business and animal health suffers.
Services for commercial dairy herds include: regular herd health (reproductive health, nutrition, vaccination schedules, responsible use of antibiotics, etc.), sick animal calls, public health and foreign animal disease surveillance, diagnosis, and administration of medical/surgical treatment in an emergency or after-hours setting to farms in Vermont and possibly New Hampshire. Occasional use of basic anatomical pathology and necropsy skills for on-farm post-mortem diagnostic or sample collection purposes (e.g. rabies and BSE samples) is required. The veterinarian should be USDA-accredited as accreditation is required for program disease surveillance and authorizing Certificates of Veterinary Inspection (CVIs). As animals in Vermont are regularly exported nationally and internationally (Canada), about 5550 head in the last year, accurate and official CVIs are essential for disease prevention and traceability. Vermont lacks agricultural extension agents so a veterinarian serving in this area may have opportunity for community engagement in contexts that are covered by Extension in other states. Dairy work is the most time sensitive and critical need, but additional services to beef and small ruminant producers would be eventual goals as these sectors are also under-served at this time.
Vermont maintains a state funded loan repayment program open to any food animal veterinarian serving in Vermont without specific geographic restrictions. However, the geographic areas of highest need are submitted as VMLRP shortage nominations annually, often to support existing veterinary practices that have struggled to recruit or retain new associates. This nomination also brings immediate attention to an area of critical need. After the four-doctor practice that served this area disbanded, one of the veterinarians remained in the area to cover services. Though in the future she may seek to expand her independent clinic, the sudden vacuum of coverage has allowed little time for extensive advertising and specific recruitment of one or more associate veterinarians. An applicant may find a position available with this established veterinarian or the opportunity to establish a new veterinary practice in this geographic shortage area.
If food animal veterinary services are not expanded and maintained, there will be a void of veterinary care to the dairy farmers within the listed counties. This will not only directly impact the dairy industry but will also have negative impacts on adjacent industries and the overall economy of the states of Vermont and New Hampshire. The dairy industry is directly or indirectly responsible for over $2.2 billion of Vermont's economy. The may/must serve counties in Vermont represent nearly $82 million in milk sales alone. Because Vermont animal-based food products are consumed locally and exported regionally and internationally, the impact of this expertise void is compounded. Failure to attract and retain accredited food animal veterinarians focused on dairy practice will also impact federal disease surveillance programs such as BSE, tuberculosis, and brucellosis. A veterinarian filling this shortage area will have to embrace a One Health approach to practice by serving their clientele in these multiple capacities, and a continued vacancy in this geographic area will put public, animal and environmental health at risk. State legislation has relaxed raw milk regulatory oversight and expanded opportunities for on-farm slaughter of production animals outside of the regulated environments that would normally ensure humane handling and sanitary food processing practices. Vermont's lack of livestock extension specialists creates a farm-based animal husbandry/biosecurity expertise void. The State animal health office has limited resources to fill these many voids and depends heavily on practicing veterinarians to be the first lines of defense against domestic, emerging and foreign animal disease outbreaks. The veterinarian shortage in this area has ebbed and flowed for years, as seen in historical VMLRP nominations, but the national veterinary professional landscape that has worsened in recent years has compounded the already difficult tasks of attracting and retaining new veterinarians in this particular shortage area. Vermont's already-stressed dairy industry has suffered greatly as a result of the recent practice closure. This unexpected development and the other veterinary shortage issues described in this nomination justify the "critical" rating assigned to this shortage area.