State/Territory
Texas
Shortage Location - Must Serve
Reeves, Pecos, Ward, Loving, and Culberson Counties
Shortage Location - May Serve
Winkler County
Location Center
Pecos, TX 79772
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
(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
This shortage situation stretches hundreds of miles in far West Texas and includes some of the largest counties geographically in the state. Reeves, Pecos, and Culberson Counties are in the top ten largest counties in Texas by size, and there is currently only one livestock veterinarian serving them, and he is retiring in the next year. The other three counties—Ward, Loving, and Winkler—are serviced by only two veterinarians, which are both located in one town in Northeast Ward County. This results in only a few qualified veterinarians left to cover many hundreds of miles and animals and hundreds of producers spread very far apart. In these six counties, there are more than 7 million acres of farmland, almost 1,000 producers, 77,000 head of cattle, and 9,000 goats. With this area’s proximity to New Mexico, large numbers of beef cattle travel through these counties for interstate movement, as well as large numbers of racehorses traveling from Odessa to El Paso. Proper inspection of these animals prior to traveling is essential, and it is becoming more difficult each year to find livestock veterinarians to perform this work, much less finding emergency or after-hours care for their herds. Producers are already traveling great distances for veterinary care, but following the retirement of the sole veterinarian in the western part of this area, it will become almost impossible to find reliable veterinary work.
Veterinarian Medical Activities & Services
The primary food animal species in this area is beef cattle, so a new veterinarian would need to assist with everything relating to heard health. This includes consultative services to develop herd health plans, routine vaccinations, regular bull examinations and trichomoniasis testing, identifying potential diseases and taking action, pregnancy checking, and educating producers on disease prevention and proper supplementation. A new veterinarian should also be willing to serve as a subject matter expert in their community and educate the public on identifying potential domestic and foreign diseases, work with local 4H and FFA programs on best animal welfare practices, and work with industry partners to best assist producers in their area. Producers sending beef cattle to bordering New Mexico feedlots will also need to have feeders properly inspected, so a veterinarian should be able to issue compliant certificates of veterinary inspection and work with other state’s animal health offices as needed.
Historical Efforts of Recruiting/Retaining a Veterinarian
The practitioners in this area have utilized advertisements in journals, as well as internship opportunities to recruit new veterinarians, but retaining them has been difficult. The area of Texas is a desert landscape, so it is very hot and can be difficult to raise quality livestock. It takes a certain personality to move and live in this area, so recruiting is a real challenge. With Texas Tech University SVM now open, recruitment efforts are focused on finding someone from the area and enticing them to work at one of the few already established clinics. With the veterinarians in this area approaching retirement age, they are hoping to recruit a new vet and retain them by allowing them to buy in and eventually take over the clinic.
Consequences of Not Securing/Retaining a Veterinarian
Being such a remote and geographically vast area, the producers in this area require a working veterinarian who can perform emergency calls, large-scale calfhood vaccinations, trich test, and make farm calls for various species. With the current veterinary shortage, producers are facing uncertain economic times in livestock production. As a consequence of the current shortage, many producers have decided to sell their herds and find new work, as the industry has become unprofitable. Another consequence is that producers simply do not feel that their industry is being properly supported, as food animal veterinarians have become increasingly sparse. Without veterinary resources, producers make less informed decisions with their herds. A continued veterinary shortage will increasingly drain the profits of the livestock producers in these counties and lead to less contribution to the state and country’s food supply.
Community Aspects
This area of the state is very open and rural, with spectacular desert views. This area is ~40 minutes from Balmorhea State Park and Monahans Sandhills State Park, ~2 hours from Guadalupe Mountains National Park (Texas’ highest elevation), and within 200 miles of beautiful Big Bend National Park. Many skiing destinations in New Mexico are within 200-250 miles. With both the oil and wind industry being large sectors, the area is steadily growing, and many small businesses are thriving. The school systems are small, safe, and friendly. While most towns are very small, Midland and Odessa are larger cities and are close enough to travel to if needed. Bird and deer hunting are very popular in this area.
Page last updated: February 9, 2026