State/Territory
Texas
Shortage Location - Must Serve
Dawson, Borden, Howard, Lynn, and Martin Counties
Shortage Location - May Serve
Gaines and Terry Counties
Location Center
Lamesa, TX 79331
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.)
80
Type of Shortage
(Veterinary Practice Area / Discipline / Specialty)
Type I Shortage: Private Practice Food Animal Medicine
Must serve
(minimum 50% of time)
Beef Cattle
Small Ruminant
May serve
All agricultural and food supply animals
Nominator Name
Lewis Dinges
Nominator Title
State Veterinarian
Nominator Org
Texas Animal Health Commission
Nominator Email
Nominator Phone
512-719-0715
Importance/Objectives of Veterinarian
In these seven counties, there are more than 57,000 head of cattle, more than 1,200 horses, nearly 1,000 pigs, and roughly 3,200 small ruminants. Serving all of these animals, there are only five food animal veterinarians, with three of them working in one clinic. Borden, Howard, Lynn, and Martin Counties have no food animal veterinarians. Because these counties combine for more than 6,900 square miles of land, many producers are forced to travel hundreds of miles to Dawson County to receive proper veterinary care. Because of this, it is regular for producers to travel 2+ hours roundtrip for a c-section.
In an area of the state with the largest number of feedlots, the relationship between veterinarians and producers is one of great importance. Qualified veterinarians are essential in disease prevention and treatment, education regarding safe food supply, and working with state and federal agencies on prompt reporting of suspect and positive disease cases. Without new veterinarians joining the workforce in these counties, the thousands of beef cattle producers are left without a vital resource in both education and treatment.
With a veterinarian to cattle ratio of 1 to 11,400, it is already difficult for every producer to receive proper veterinary care for their cattle herds, but this very large geographic area also has significant numbers of horses. The clinic in Dawson County, therefore, is spread thin trying to serve their many equine clients while also making farm and emergency calls for various other species in a spread out geographic are of the Texas panhandle.
Veterinarian Medical Activities & Services
Being such an expansive geographic area, a veterinarian in these countries would be expected to provide emergency services for things like equine lameness, lacerations and colic’s, dystocia’s of cattle, swine, and small ruminants, and treating urinary calculi in small ruminants. Veterinarians should also be comfortable pregnancy palpating cows, performing breeding soundness exams on bulls, vaccinating, and trichomoniasis testing. Many of the producers in this area send feeder cows to Texas and Oklahoma feedlots, so veterinarians should also be capable of discussing and creating herd health plans, offering best practices for reproduction, annual calfhood vaccinations, and establishing regular interactions with the ranchers and producers in their area in order to help maintain a strong livestock market and healthy food supply.
Historical Efforts of Recruiting/Retaining a Veterinarian
Clinics in this shortage area have traditionally worked with Texas A&M University and Oklahoma State University and set up externships for veterinary students. While internship and externship opportunities have been utilized by visiting students, retaining these students has been very difficult. Many of them ultimately move back closer to their homes after their service in this area concludes. The Texas panhandle is geographically remote and often requires a certain type of individual to live and work there. With Texas Tech University set to graduate their first class in Spring 2025, a loan repayment program would be a massive incentive for a new veterinarian to move to this shortage area and begin working.
Consequences of Not Securing/Retaining a Veterinarian
Being a vast, open area with spread out farms, the current veterinary shortage in this area is leaving many producers to travel hundreds of miles for veterinary care or without veterinary care at all. The longer this area remains under-served, the more common it is going to be that emergency calls cannot be answered. With one of these counties bordering New Mexico, it is vital that veterinarians are performing quality inspections and issuing compliant health certificates prior to interstate travel, which is becoming harder to accomplish.
A major consequence of this veterinary shortage situation is economic, as some producers have opted to sell their herds completely. This leaves many ranchers without their traditional source of income and also creates less contribution to the food supply. Another consequence is that more laypeople will begin performing procedures that veterinarians are trained to do out of simple necessity. This has the potential to cause zoonotic and other potentially infectious diseases to go unnoticed and spread. Our country’s food supply depends on trained veterinarians to recognize these diseases, and this area is experiencing a significant lack of trained professionals available to do so.
Community Aspects
This shortage area is very rural, so cost of living is much cheaper relative to larger cities, allowing new veterinarians the opportunity to buy a home and raise a family. The western counties are within 2 hours of Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico and roughly 200 miles from New Mexico skiing destinations. The northern and eastern counties are within 2 hours of Lake Colorado City State Park and roughly 2 hours from Palo Duro Canyon State Park.
The smaller, rural schools are some of the top-rated schools in the state, and they foster a very tight sense of community. There are also lots of outdoor activities, including hunting and rodeoing. Many of our clients, as well as associate veterinarians, are actively involved in both junior and amateur rodeos. With a lot of open land, there is also ample opportunity to purchase property and raise animals.
Page last updated: February 9, 2026