State/Territory
Vermont
Shortage Location - Must Serve
Chittenden, Franklin, and Lamoille counties
Shortage Location - May Serve
Washington, Addison, and Grand Isle counties
Location Center
The town of Underhill at intersection of Rte. 15 and River Road
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
Small Ruminant
Other Must Serve
May serve
Beef Cattle
Swine
Poultry
Other May Serve
camelids
Employer
Position Title
Other disciplinary area
Carry Over
Nominator Name
Kristin M. Haas, DVM
Nominator Title
State Veterinarian
Nominator Org
Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets
Nominator Email
Nominator Phone
802-522-7326
Importance/Objectives of Veterinarian
Vermont's small ruminant industry is diverse, evolving, and expanding. It comprises sheep and goats raised in rural to suburban areas for food, fiber, exhibition, and hobby by producers ranging from novice owners to expert producers. There are 5 direct-to-consumer-sales raw milk and 29 conventional sheep/goat dairies and a growing ethnic community seeking sheep/goat-derived meat-based foods in this shortage area. Vermont's allowance of "on-farm slaughter" and a shortage of commercial slaughter facilities also adds to the diversity of this animal agricultural sector, its importance to the state's food production industry, and the need for expert veterinary services to ensure sanitary food production practices and humane slaughter practices within the sector. Four of the six may/must-serve counties referenced in this nomination annually host Vermont's largest agricultural fairs which all contain small ruminant shows and exhibits, giving local 4-H and FFA enthusiasts a multi-state competitive outlet for their craft and keeping USDA Category 2 Accredited veterinarians busy. Novice owners who own "petstock" sheep and goats require more intensive individual animal preventative and emergency veterinary care. NASS data is not included in this submission due to the significant change in the small ruminant sector since 2017 when those stats were last published, but one veterinary practice providing services in the must/may-serve shortage area described 362 premises containing 1450 small ruminant patients. The Vermont Sheep and Goat Assn. and the Vermont State Veterinarian's office have experienced an uptick in calls over the last two years from small ruminant owners unable to secure veterinary services or consultation. A small ruminant veterinarian is needed in this area to ensure animal health and well-being, promote food safety, protect public health, and provide expert advisement and consultation services to a diverse demographic of small ruminant owners and producers.
Veterinarian Medical Activities & Services
A veterinarian filling this shortage area must be prepared to provide a range of clinical veterinary services to small ruminant patients owned by individuals with varying levels of skill and expertise. Clinical services include consultation on and implementation of preventative health care programs; diagnosis and administration of medical/surgical treatment in an emergency or after-hours setting; consultation on and treatment of routine internal medicine cases; management of reproductive health on a flock or individual animal basis; support of animal disease traceability through issuance of CVIs and knowledge of official animal ID; nutritional advisement; and similar services. The successful veterinarian must be USDA Category 2 Accredited, confident enough to engage in independent decision making under stressful circumstances with minimal mentorship, and familiar with practices and medications acceptable for food-producing animals during the pre-harvest phase of production. Occasional use of basic anatomical pathology and necropsy skills for on-farm post-mortem diagnostic or sample collection purposes (e.g. rabies and scrapie samples) is required. The successful veterinarian may also be able to augment service hours by educating youth groups, sheep/goat industry organizations, and agricultural fair managers. Vermont lacks agricultural extension agents so a veterinarian serving in this area may have opportunity for community engagement in contexts that are covered by Extension in other states. Because the small ruminant demographic in this shortage area would reasonably support a 30% FTE veterinarian, the successful veterinary applicant may be best poised to meet the minimum service requirements by also providing veterinary services to beef cattle, swine, camelids, and poultry, often found on Vermont's diversified farms. The veterinarian may have opportunity to join an established multi-doctor practice if working as part of a professional team is desired.
Historical Efforts of Recruiting/Retaining a Veterinarian
Efforts to recruit and retain a veterinarian for this shortage situation have been ongoing at the state and practice level. Vermont maintains a state-funded veterinary loan repayment program, but to date it has not resulted in a net increase in small ruminant veterinarians in this shortage area or elsewhere in the state and the monetary cap is lower than the VMLRP. One established practice in the shortage area has worked to hire an associate veterinarian for over a year. They have advertised the vacancy on species-focused veterinary websites and through word of mouth/networking with referral hospitals and college employment listserves, and they have taken on externs in hopes of attracting a new associate. They have also advertised the position under different job titles, including associate veterinarian, after hours/emergency veterinarian, and intern veterinarian, in an effort to appeal to a diverse applicant pool.
Consequences of Not Securing/Retaining a Veterinarian
In the post-COVID era, Vermonters have continued to prioritize access to safe local food products, and the state relies heavily on the sheep and goat industry to augment production of healthy meat and dairy-based food products for instate consumption and export. This demand has sometimes resulted in naive owners acquiring livestock for food production without the appropriate level of knowledge and expertise to manage the animals or harvest food products safely. A continued uptick of small ruminant hobbyists also increases the number of farms each year and often decreases the level of expertise livestock owners may have about how to ensure animal health and well-being. State legislation has relaxed raw milk regulatory oversight and expanded opportunities for on-farm slaughter of production animals outside of the regulated environments that would normally ensure humane handling and sanitary food processing practices. Vermont's lack of livestock extension specialists creates a farm-based animal husbandry/biosecurity expertise void. The State animal health office has limited resources to fill these many voids and depends heavily on practicing veterinarians to be the first lines of defense against domestic, emerging and foreign animal disease outbreaks. Vermont has continued to experience a "pocketed" veterinary shortage that has most dramatically impacted the food animal industry sectors, and those veterinarians who do enter this focus area often must prioritize dairy cattle over small ruminants. Vermont farms of all sizes continue to experience increased scrutiny from regulatory agencies and watchdog groups regarding agricultural impacts on water quality, animal welfare, and the environment. An inability to fill this shortage area means that livestock owners will be without clinical veterinary services, food safety advisement, and animal husbandry counsel, and it means Vermont will be more vulnerable to high consequence disease introduction and spread. A veterinarian filling this shortage area will have to embrace a One Health approach to practice by serving their clientele in these multiple capacities, and a continued vacancy in this geographic area will put public, animal and environmental health at risk. Because Vermont animal-based food products are consumed locally and exported regionally and internationally, the impact of this expertise void is compounded. These parameters justify a priority rating of "high" for this nomination.
Community Aspects
As previously mentioned, a veterinarian filling this shortage area would have opportunity to share expertise and engage with small ruminant clientele and patients in numerous ways, allowing for customization of the professional experience. Many Vermont veterinarians choose to integrate into their communities outside of clinical hours through the industry support activities referenced above. A veterinarian focused on small ruminant practice will support a keystone Vermont industry. Merino sheep were introduced to Vermont in 1812, and this started a successful wool industry in the state. Although the industry has since diversified into hobbyists, milk and cheese producers, breeders and exhibitors, Vermont's sheep and goat producers are still passionate about the value these animals bring to the state, as evidenced by the Vermont Sheep and Wool Festival held annually and the ongoing success of the Vermont Sheep and Goat Assn. The successful veterinarian may also choose to take advantage of the many outdoor, recreational and cultural opportunities that exist in the shortage area and around the state. Vermont is a 4-season outdoor enthusiast's paradise where world-class opportunities for biking, hiking, paddling, skiing, and fishing abound. Cultural events are readily available in most towns, and multiple universities and colleges located in the state ensure a vibrant population. The Vermont Veterinary Medical Association boasts a membership comprising more than 70% of practicing veterinarians in the state; that organization and the New England Vet Medical Association offer opportunities for professional camaraderie, leadership positions, and informative CE. A veterinarian serving in this area will be within 30 minutes of Lake Champlain, 1.5 hours of Montreal, and within easy driving distance of multiple airports. In short, a veterinarian filling this niche will enjoy well-rounded opportunities for professional growth and personal enjoyment: a win-win!