State/Territory
Tennessee
Shortage Location - Must Serve
Bedford and Marshall Counties
Shortage Location - May Serve
Moore, Coffee, Maury, Lincoln, Giles Counties
Location Center
2126 Hwy 64 W, Shelbyville, TN 37160
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
Other May Serve
Employer
Position Title
Other disciplinary area
Carry Over
Nominator Name
Wesley Crabtree
Nominator Title
Staff Veterinarian
Nominator Org
Tennessee Department of Agriculture
Nominator Email
Nominator Phone
615-837-5283
Importance/Objectives of Veterinarian
While Bedford and Marshall counties do have large animal veterinary practitioners, all clinics in Bedford County are equine-focused or equine-exclusive except for one, and both Bedford and Marshall Counties have a high livestock head to livestock veterinarian ratio based on 2017 and 2023 NASS data. Given the significant number of cattle, small ruminants, and poultry in these counties, the objective of a veterinarian filling this shortage situation would mainly be to expand services to livestock producers in the area that other veterinarians may be less willing or able to see based on their current large animal and non-livestock species case loads. This area of the state has a large cattle population of over 82,000 cattle, a growing small ruminant population of 8,618 sheep and goats, over 5.69 million head of poultry, and a continuously growing number of backyard poultry flocks (30 NPIP flocks). Therefore, a veterinarian trained in general livestock production who understands public health and environmental issues is important. Another important objective of this position is for the veterinarian to become a long-term resident of the community and contributor to the local economy, developing working relationships with producers, consumers, and allied businesses.
Veterinarian Medical Activities & Services
In this shortage region, a food animal veterinarian's activities may include the following both in a clinic and/or on farm calls: diagnosing and treating diseased animals along with guiding, evaluating, and implementing preventative measures for herd health, making recommendations of management practices to improve herd reproductive health, and identifying nutritional deficiencies or parasitic problems in herds while providing surveillance for emerging and foreign animal diseases. This veterinarian would also be expected to provide brucellosis and tuberculosis testing, write certificates of veterinary inspections, educate and encourage producers to implement traceability in herds and flocks, provide surveillance for animal disease while working at events where animals are commingled (including markets, sale barns, exhibitions, fairs, 4-H events, etc), and work in conjunction with TDA and UT Extension to share information with the community about animal health programs and regulations, whether via social media, public news media, or in person. A veterinarian having received a VMLRP award could also promote the profession and the VMLRP to students in 4H and FFA, thereby increasing the exposure and possibly interest in agricultural pursuits, and may be able to provide outreach education using social media outlets in cooperation with UT Extension and TDA.
Historical Efforts of Recruiting/Retaining a Veterinarian
This is a recurring request for this area as this location had three applicants obtain this award in 2022, but due to the high number of animals, it remains a shortage area. The difficulty with recruiting and retaining food animal veterinarians in this area is due in part to the economics of veterinary practice. The large volume of smaller producers with lower available finances for veterinary work and high debt burden of many veterinarians, especially new graduates, makes it a non-feasible option for many veterinarians to operate in the area on livestock species. Instead, many veterinarians who may consider working with food animal medicine turn to equine or small animal medicine as they tend to be more lucrative pursuits.
Consequences of Not Securing/Retaining a Veterinarian
At this point in time, the high ratio of livestock to livestock veterinarians in the Marshall and Bedford county region (578,000:1 according to 2017 and 2023 NASS data) creates an area of higher risk of becoming an epicenter of contagious disease that could rapidly affect state and national food supplies. Primary veterinarians are the first line of defense against foreign animal disease, bioterrorism, and zoonotic outbreaks. Along with this, disruptions in the food supply can have major impacts on the economy and public health of the entire nation, as demonstrated by the Covid pandemic. In this shortage region, there are many beef cattle, small ruminants, and chickens with only a few veterinarians willing to treat them. Most of these weaned beef calves in Tennessee are commingled and sold with many of these animals subsequently transported to feed yards in Iowa, Texas, and Oklahoma. Consequently, an animal from Tennessee exposed to a contagious pathogen that may have been detected sooner with a veterinary presence could instead spread a FAD halfway across the United States and expose a vast number of feeder cattle within a short timeframe.
Additionally, with the threat of African Swine Fever continuing to grow ever-closer and the large number of cull hogs slaughtered and processed in Tennessee, livestock veterinarians are critical as a first line of surveillance for FADs. Feral swine are widespread across Tennessee and create the potential to infect backyard hogs that may be commingled with animals from all over the country and even the world before they are moved (often multiple times after commingling) to slaughter. If unnoticed, untreated, and unreported, these animals could serve as a nidus for future infection with FADs that could have a devastating impact on the animal population along with the local, state, and national economy and exports.
Along with this, an outbreak in the large, vertically integrated poultry facilities as well as backyard poultry flocks could potentially pose a threat to the entire nation's food supply, poultry genetic diversity, and the state's economic stability. Lastly, continued lack of veterinary outreach no doubt is a contributing factor to zoonotic disease spread in communities, such as with salmonellosis in humans from backyard poultry, and creates an increased risk of non-judicious antibiotic use in farm animals.
Community Aspects
The Bedford and Marshall counties region is a great place to live and raise a family. The area gives the quiet, peaceful, small town feel while still providing easy access to the big city amenities of Nashville, Huntsville, and Chattanooga. It's a very community focused area with county leaders that really strive to help the area grow (thus lots of open jobs for spouses and family) while maintaining that southern hospitality. Known as the "Walking Horse capital of the world," Shelbyville in Bedford County has a culture steeped in equestrian sports with the annual Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration held there every fall and numerous parks and areas nearby for trail riding or boarding stables to keep and train your horses. For those interested in the outdoors, Bedford and Marshall counties are right along the Duck River and close to several fantastic lakes for boating, fishing, and swimming while Marshall County also contains Henry Horton State Park, a beautiful area known for its campgrounds, hotels, and hiking trails. Additionally, the area is filled with Civil War history, numerous nearby world-famous distilleries, and close proximity to the annual Bonnaroo music festival. Lastly, this region of the state is focused on being an area where children can thrive along with their parents by providing numerous sport leagues for adults and kids alike, having a friendly environment in which the children can learn, operating one of the last drive-in theaters left in the country, and hosting lots of community events for families to experience together like Octoberfest and the "Goats, Music, and More" festival in Marshall County.