State/Territory
South Carolina
Shortage Location - Must Serve
SC Southern Piedmont - 8 contiguous counties (Aiken, Edgefield, Greenwood, Laurens, Lexington, McCormick, Newberry & Saluda)
Shortage Location - May Serve
May service an adjacent county(ies) of Fairfield, Greenville, Spartanburg, and Union
Location Center
Silverstreet, SC
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
Apiary, Equine supporting beef
Employer
Position Title
Other disciplinary area
Carry Over
Nominator Name
Michael Neault, DVM
Nominator Title
SC State Veterinarian
Nominator Org
Clemson University Livestock-Poultry Health Division
Nominator Email
Nominator Phone
(803) 726-7818
Importance/Objectives of Veterinarian
The objectives of a veterinarian meeting this shortage situation are to provide food animal veterinary services for cattle and small ruminants in Aiken, Edgefield, Greenwood, Laurens, Lexington, McCormick, Newberry and Saluda counties with the opportunity to also serve small swine farms and small flock poultry operations. There is opportunity to attend and participate with the county and state cattlemen's associations, local South Carolina Farm Bureau offices, local extension, 4-H, FFA, and other local livestock/food animal organizations in this area. This area is home to over 143,000 food animals other than poultry including 97,806 cattle according to 2017 NASS data including the number one dairy county, Newberry County, in South Carolina. There are also 1,075 farms with poultry in these counties according to NASS 2017. None of these eight counties has a city with a population of 50,000 or more according to the 2020 Census. Using multiple sources of information conveyed to the State Veterinarian, we estimate there to be the full time equivalent of 4 food animal veterinarians serving this area (2 are over 70 years of age). Small ruminant and the small farm/local food movement are growing in this area increasing the demand for veterinarians willing to work on food animals in this rural area. In addition, an entrepreneurial candidate with interest may find work within the apiary industry in this region that produces 8.61% of the states honey production per the 2017 NASS data. If an adjacent county(ies) are included by the applicant, per the 2023 NASS cattle estimates, this may increase the cattle population by 26,200, and per the 2017 NASS census - all goats by 4,357, sheep and lambs by 913, swine by 1,843, and possible apiary by 10.15%.
Veterinarian Medical Activities & Services
The activities of a veterinarian meeting this shortage situation would include providing beef and dairy production medicine services in the area designated and also providing at least sick animal services and herd health and biosecurity advice to aviary, small poultry flocks, small ruminant producers, and small swine herds in the area. It is believed this veterinarian should be able to work at least 30% time on these activities within this rural area. The veterinarian could get an additional 10-15% of activity participating in FFA, 4-H and other extension programs, participating in local and/or state farm bureau organizations focusing on the area, and local dairy/beef associations or other local livestock/food animal organizations The veterinarian could join a mixed practice in the area or set up as a solo practitioner as opportunities for both exist. This veterinarian could supplement with food animal work outside of the area, equine, or companion animal work within the area to obtain enough work to be economically viable. It is not believed possible at this time to be economically viable performing 80% food supply veterinary services within this rural area only. There are veterinarians in the area that would likely be willing to share call and/or offer a new graduate assistance even if this veterinarian was not officially affiliated with their practice .
Historical Efforts of Recruiting/Retaining a Veterinarian
Veterinarians that have historically served food animal producers in this area have retired. The mixed animal practices in the area serving of food animal clients report difficulty in recruiting and retaining new associates due to the high education debt incurred by possible veterinary candidates. Retention of existing associates and certainly any new hire veterinarians would be very positively impacted by eligibility for VMLRP according to several experienced area practitioners. The State Veterinarian agrees with this assessment.
Consequences of Not Securing/Retaining a Veterinarian
The area specified for this veterinarian shortage situation contains a significant percentage of the beef and dairy cows in the state of South Carolina. The production of a safe, wholesome, local food supply for South Carolina is directly impacted by the ability of the producers in this area to obtain competent and readily available veterinary services. Considering the age of some of the existing practitioners in this area , it is critical for South Carolina to help establish some younger veterinarians in this area so that availability of food supply veterinary services will not be interrupted in the future. In addition, there is a significant void of veterinarians willing to work on small ruminants currently as most food animal practitioners are too busy to take on new clients in this area. A shift in the ethnic demographics is causing a demand for and production of meat goats. There are purebred dairy and beef operations in this area that market their animals' genetics all over the United States and in several foreign countries.
Community Aspects
This area is close to the mountain regions of South Carolina with access to many local vineyards and state parks with waterfalls and hiking trails along with lakes and rivers for boating. If looking for a long weekend by the ocean, you are only a few hours drive from arriving at many beach locations of your choice. Several colleges and universities, are in the area offering excellent educational opportunities for families. College sports and minor league baseball teams are within the region. The cities of Greenville, Spartanburg, and Newberry are close to visit, Georgia is short drive away to visit its historic cities. The area has many amenities including large chain stores for groceries, clothing, technology, etc. available. The Charlotte airport is easily accessible for air travel needs. Excellent medical services are in the area. Visit the county websites for details on what home-life might be like in these counties and visit https://discoversouthcarolina.com to learn more about what the state of South Carolina offers.