Weekly Column: Addressing Idaho's Veterinarian Shortages

The U.S. Department of Agriculture maintains a map detailing veterinarian shortages nationwide.  Idaho is among the majority of rural states facing a shortage of veterinarians needed to maintain an agricultural economy and ensure public health.  As Chairman of the U.S. Senate Finance Committee, I joined Committee member Tina Smith (D-Minnesota) in reintroducing bipartisan legislation designed to address the chronic shortage of veterinary services in rural communities.

S. 1163, the Rural Veterinary Workforce Act, would allow veterinarians practicing in underserved areas to exempt student loan repayments from their taxable income.  A similar provision exists for physicians who practice in underserved states. 

Sixteen Idaho counties are classified as veterinarian shortages areas.  Idaho State Veterinarian Dr. Scott Leibsle nominated Idaho’s shortage-designated counties.  His explanations include the following:

• Beef operations in Canyon and Owyhee counties are struggling to find local veterinary care.

• Current staffing cannot keep pace with all large animal customers in Idaho and Lewis counties.  The area has more than 31,000 head of mostly beef cattle and nearly 4,000 small ruminants with many hobby farms and 4-H participants increasing in the last 5 years due to rapid population growth.

• South central Idaho, including Twin Falls and Jerome counties, contains the greatest concentration of total cattle in the state.  Continued expansion of beef and dairy operations in this region has overburdened the existing clinics.  Many have stopped accepting new clients and/or limited their practice focus toward dairy.

• Payette, Washington and Adams counties are home to 108,000 total cattle (vast majority beef).  The expansion of dairies in western Idaho has drawn nearly all area large animal vets to become solely dedicated to dairy.  Beef operations and small backyard farms (including sheep and goat flock) are struggling to find local veterinary care.

• Progressively fewer options for veterinary support are available in Franklin, Bannock and Caribou counties, which are home to more than 142,500 head of mostly beef cattle and more than 20,000 sheep and lambs.

• Bingham, Clark and Jefferson counties have a disproportionate number of cattle compared to available large animal vets, and herds continue to grow.

Additionally, Washington’s and Idaho’s State Veterinarians jointly nominated Idaho’s Nez Perce County for a shortage designation along with Washington’s Asotin County noting, “Producers along with backyard hobby farmers are forced to drive 1-2 hours to the WSU Veterinary School for emergency services.” 

“Fifty percent of Idaho large animal veterinarians are nearing retirement age in the next 10 years, while historical data across all U.S. veterinary schools has indicated less than 1 of every 10 veterinary graduates indicate they will enter large animal practice,” reports Dr. Leibsle.  “Therefore, the current replacement rate of large animal graduates is unlikely to meet the needs of the industry in the near or long terms.  We need all the tools we can find to help maintain veterinary support for our livestock industries in Idaho.” 

To address veterinarian shortages, Congress established the Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program (VMLRP) to help qualified veterinarians repay their student loans in exchange for practicing for three years in underserved communities.  However, the VMLRP is subject to a significant federal withholding tax, which limits the program’s benefits.  The Rural Veterinary Workforce Act would lift this burden by allowing recipients to exempt payments received under this and similar state programs.  This change would enable veterinarians to practice in underserved areas that may otherwise be unaffordable.

Access to quality veterinary care is vital for Idaho agriculture.  By addressing the burdensome taxes on the VMLRP, this legislation would allow more veterinarians to serve in rural and underserved communities most in need.  I look forward to advancing this legislation to better serve Idahoans. 

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