State/Territory
Tennessee
Shortage Location - Must Serve
Tipton, Lauderdale, and Dyer Counties
Shortage Location - May Serve
Haywood, Crocket, Obion, Fayette, Shelby Counties
Location Center
Ripley, TN
VSGP Status
Open
VMLRP Status
(Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program)
Open
Priority of shortage
Critical
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
In the Tipton, Dyer, and Lauderdale County region, there is a dire need for veterinarians who can provide ambulatory services to livestock species in a remote area with geographic isolation of homes and farms. This area is a severely underserved portion of west Tennessee with no practitioners in Dyer or Lauderdale County and one veterinarian in Tipton Co who does farm calls one day a week and does not go north to the other counties. While there are a couple other farm animal practitioners in surrounding counties, the distance to the farms and number of non-livestock animals treated make it nearly impossible for them to cover all the areas needed. Numerous producers from the TN Cattlemen's Association and veterinarians who work with the TDA indicated that farmers struggle to get their animals treated and requested for this to be a shortage nomination. According to 2023 and 2017 NASS data respectively, there is a combined total of 16,800 cattle, 2,754 small ruminants, and 4,361 hogs between the counties. With no available veterinarians, the producers of these animals either must haul animals to the clinics or wait on farm call appointments from veterinarians from adjacent counties if they're available, making livestock emergencies very challenging to address due to the distance from the farm to a clinic. Along the production animals, there are increasing numbers of backyard hogs and poultry flocks (12 NPIP flocks) with owners often having limited knowledge of animal husbandry throughout the region. A private veterinarian available to perform consultations, examinations, and treatment of animals on these farms while providing education to the farmers would be an invaluable asset to help prevent unnecessary disease investigations, act as first line surveillance for zoonotic and foreign animal disease, and encourage further growth of livestock production and the economy.
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, 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 region has been under-served due to veterinarians retiring, leaving large animal practice, or no longer performing farm calls. Producers have reported being unable to get a farm call even to treat emergency cases at times. The difficulty with recruiting and retaining food animal veterinarians in this area is due in part to the distribution of livestock producers in the area combined with the large number of farms unable and unwilling to spend the money for treatment and the resultant economics of veterinary practice. Due to these increased travel costs with minimal financial incentive to make the drive and high starting debt of most new veterinarians, performing large animal works tends to be a non-feasible option for many practitioners. To aid in recruitment, TDA and UT Ag Extension services would work to connect this position with local producers and extension agents to help recruit business, establish relationships in the community, and make it a more accessible option.
Consequences of Not Securing/Retaining a Veterinarian
At this point in time, the lack of veterinary access in the Tipton, Lauderdale, and Dyer County region creates an unmitigated risk to our economic and physical well-being at all levels due to the potential of becoming an epicenter of contagious disease that could rapidly affect state and national food supplies. 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 a multitude of cattle and small ruminant farms that struggle to find a veterinarian to help manage the health of their animals and evaluate them for illness. 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 Dyer County and Tennessee in general, 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 Tipton, Dyer, and Lauderdale County region is a great place to not only visit but to live and raise a family. The area gives the quiet, peaceful, country feel while still providing easy access to the big city amenities of Nashville and Memphis. The area is known for small towns and beautiful countryside 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 and small community feel. If you love the outdoors, it's got something for everybody with the annual Bald Eagle Festival at Reelfoot Lake, loads of areas for hiking, fishing, and swimming; numerous historical sites including the Civil War Fort Pillow State Park, multiple wildlife refuges, and plenty of golf courses and other outdoor sports facilities. If you like more of the city life, it's a quick trip to Memphis for fantastic barbecue, the world-famous Memphis in May music festival, or Riverboat cruises on the Mississippi River. Lastly, the area is known for being a good place to raise kids with the low cost of living, low taxes, low traffic, good schools, and plenty of community program, summer sports programs, and recreation options for children.