State/Territory
North Carolina
Shortage Location - Must Serve
Chatham (709 sq mi) and Randolph (790 sq mi) Counties in North Carolina
Shortage Location - May Serve
Moore (706 sq mi) and Montgomery (502 sq mi) Counties in North Carolina
Location Center
Siler City, NC 27344
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
Dairy Cattle
Small Ruminant
Other Must Serve
May serve
Swine
Poultry
Other May Serve
Equine
Employer
Position Title
Other disciplinary area
Carry Over
Nominator Name
Michael P. Martin
Nominator Title
State Veterinarian
Nominator Org
NCDA&CS
Nominator Email
Nominator Phone
(919)-218-5143
Importance/Objectives of Veterinarian
This four county area (total of 2,707 sq mi) is among the most livestock/poultry dense areas in North Carolina. Randolph and Chatham are among the top 10 counties in beef cattle numbers (#s 1 and 2 respectively). There was approximately 92,600 head of cattle recorded in 2022 by USDA, NASS in this region. Given the numbers of livestock, there is a legitimate need in these counties for veterinarians to provide services to dairies, to the small cow/calf operators, and to small back yard specialty market swine operations. Existing veterinary practices in these four counties provide large animal services, so it is unlikely that a veterinarian would move to the area to establish a new practice. However, the opportunity for loan repayment, if the counties are designated a veterinary shortage will provide incentives for new or recent graduates to join and/or remain in the existing practices in this area. It is not anticipated that all counties would be covered by the applicant, but that the applicant could serve multiple counties in this geographic region.
Veterinarian Medical Activities & Services
This nomination will support an individual willing to locate within this rural area and provide mixed animal veterinary services. A new practice might be established in any of the counties or a veterinarian might be employed by existing practices within the area to expand large animal services. The individual could provide comprehensive services for all species, with at least 30% dedicated to food animal. As in most under-served areas, the ability to financially support a 100% food animal practice would be difficult, thus the Type II nomination. The activities of a dedicated mixed animal practitioner in this area would greatly assist the preservation and expansion of a vibrant and varied food animal industry in a relatively remote area of North Carolina. Expectations are that the recipient would not cover the entirety of the region, but could service the majority by providing routine health care, herd health evaluations, disease surveillance, and serve to be the front line for determining the risk of foreign animal diseases. Interactions and engagement with our NCDA&CS field staff/VMO's for determination of foreign animal diseases, sampling, and state communications would be essential. The activities could include service to 4H/FFA and county/state fairs to provide educational opportunities regarding food animal veterinary medicine.
Historical Efforts of Recruiting/Retaining a Veterinarian
Direct information on specific efforts to recruit to this area is not readily available. The intent of this nomination is focused primarily on providing the opportunity for veterinarian to locate to the area and establish himself/herself within a small community as a professional resource and contributor to the agricultural and social infrastructure of the area.
Consequences of Not Securing/Retaining a Veterinarian
As with many of these under-served areas, the lack of food animal veterinarians could have a negative impact on the state's and the nation's animal disease surveillance (hampering appropriate/timely disease response), on the food supply, and/or on public health preparedness. This area is no different than hundreds of similar areas throughout the country. The provision of food animal veterinary services is critical to foreign and endemic animal disease surveillance. It is also well documented that food supply veterinarians serve a key role in public health preparedness/response, as 75% of emerging human diseases are of animal origin and, in these small communities, veterinarians often serve on local public health boards and commissions. The lack of food supply veterinarian availability directly impacts animal welfare, as many producers resort to providing veterinary medical care to their own animals, frequently beyond the scope of their ability, which results in less than desirable outcomes and subsequent environmental impact through improper disposal of deceased livestock. The use of antimicrobials without veterinary oversight increases the rate of residue violations in the food supply. Should this nomination not be accepted, the area will continue to be under-served, allowing for the continued erosion of critical food supply veterinary infrastructure in one of the largest food animal producing states in the country.
Community Aspects
The region is known at the "The Heart of North Carolina", located between two of the state's three largest centers of population and commerce. The region has easy access to Raleigh-Durham Airport and major universities, such as University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, Duke University, North Carolina State University, North Carolina Central University, University of North Carolina-Greensboro, North Carolina A & T University and Elon University. Small specialized farms, including organic vegetables and unique nurseries, are important to the region along with tourism, real estate and the arts. There are many artists throughout the region that produce high-quality pottery, paintings, sculpture, metalwork, fiber arts, jewelry, yard art and mixed media. Jordan Lake, a major recreational lake and water reservoir, but it also has several important rivers, including the Rocky River, the Haw River and the Deep River. The latter two converge to form the Cape Fear River. The region has one of the more highly educated working-age populations in the state and the public schools are highly rated.