State/Territory
Arkansas
Shortage Location - Must Serve
Drew, Desha, Ashley, and Chicot counties
Shortage Location - May Serve
Contiguous counties: Bradley, Cleveland, and Lincoln
Location Center
Dermott, AR
VSGP Status
Open
VMLRP Status
(Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program)
Open
Priority of shortage
High
Fiscal year
Percent FTE
(Full Time Equivalent, based on a 40hr work week.)
30
Type of Shortage
(Veterinary Practice Area / Discipline / Specialty)
Type II Shortage: Private Practice – Rural Area Food Animal Medicine
Must serve
Beef Cattle
Other Must Serve
Aquaculture
Other May Serve
Employer
Position Title
Other disciplinary area
Carry Over
Nominator Name
John G. Nilz, DVM
Nominator Title
State Veterinarian
Nominator Org
AR Agri. Dept.
Nominator Email
Nominator Phone
501.297.2250
Importance/Objectives of Veterinarian
Our 2017 NASS Census data shows the following for this grouping of 6 counties: Land Area 2.0 M acres Livestock and Livestock Product Total Sales (Total animal $ - Poultry$) 13.3M Beef Cows - 6.6K Sheep – 276 Goats – 619 Hogs - 165; livestock numbers = head count. Aquaculture Sales and Distributions: State Total = 71 M. Desha Co. - 6.7 M. Other counties which are within service include: Garland 2.07 M, Lonoke 20.4 M, Prairie 8.2 M, Greene 9.3 M, and Lafayette 3.05 M. A practitioner in the area has established aquaculture clients. Unfortunately, this area has been greatly affected by the loss of one of our large animal veterinarians. There is opportunity to provide timely care to the producers in these counties and will help fill an ever-growing shortage in the veterinary field. The objective is to yield prompt care for food animal producers through preventative care, nutritional consultations, reproductive services, and surgical procedures. A 2019 study shows that 49% of our 766 veterinarians practice exclusively on small animals. Mixed animal practitioners include 29% of the total with 22% registered at 50% small/50% large and 7% listed as >50% small. 3 of 5 DVMS practice > 50 % small animal, 1 all large, and one > 50% large. This area borders a county with a livestock market. According to a local practitioner, it is also within access to neighboring Louisiana and Mississippi farms that call on the clinic. You can join an established practice or base there as a mobile practitioner.
Veterinarian Medical Activities & Services
The practitioner will provide preventative care such as individualized vaccine protocols, deworming, outbreak management through necropsy and exams. Through veterinary nutritional consultations producers can better manage their herd. Reproductive services that can be administered are pregnancy detection via ultrasound, bull breeding soundness exams, heifer breeding soundness exams and dystocias. Surgical procedures include castration, dehorning, cesarean, displaced abomasum procedures.
Historical Efforts of Recruiting/Retaining a Veterinarian
Several entities such as local practitioners, politicians, producers, and their associations have expressed concern about this area. Producer associations that have great concerns are: AR Cattlemen's, AR Goat Producers, Farm Bureau, and the Livestock Market.
Consequences of Not Securing/Retaining a Veterinarian
Ninety seven percent of Arkansas' cattle farms are family owned and operated. Without veterinarian services to these areas, farmers will unfortunately fall upon the opinions of feed stores and trial and error for their preventative care. A veterinarian monitored preconditioned herd will become a void concept. A veterinarian's ability to provide global governing of disease prevention in food animals contributes to the health and safety of the food chain. A veterinarian is integral in providing services to this area that will not only prevent small scale animal disease outbreaks but also aid in the growth of food animal production. Food animal veterinarians are trained to help prevent and respond to disease outbreaks in the food supply that could lead to a global crisis. They are our front line of defense. However, if the shortage of food animal veterinarians continues to grow or is unaddressed our state and the nation will be at greater risk from a slow response time as well as a potential economic crisis if a large-scale disease outbreak happens.
Community Aspects
Lake Chicot State Park at Sunset Incredible blues music and awesome oxbow lakes are just the beginning of the Lower Delta. The area is rich in culture with artists of all types energizing the population and museums that perpetuate our storied history. Sportsmen will appreciate Arkansas's celebrated duck hunting scene. Outdoor enthusiasts can also spot waterfowl and other wildlife at the Delta Rivers Nature Center. A little-known part of the Lower Delta's history includes the Japanese American Internment Camps at Rohwer and Jerome, AR. Actor George Takei's family was sent to Rohwer from their home in California. The WWII Japanese American Internment Camp Museum in McGehee tells the stories of the nearly 17,000 people who lived at the camps. The Arkansas Post was established in 1686 and was the first European settlement in the lower Mississippi Valley region. The post also saw military action during the Revolutionary and Civil Wars. The "single deadliest shot of the Civil War" took place in the Battle of Saint Charles on June 17, 1862. Confederate soldiers attacked a large fleet of Union gunboats on the White River and hit the steam drum aboard the USS Mound City, killing nearly 150 soldiers. Located near the duck and rice capital of the world - Stuttgart, AR