By BOB RIGGS

Indiana Correspondent

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Each November the North American International Livestock Exposition (NAILE) is at the Kentucky State Fairgrounds in Louisville. More than 20,000 cattle, goats, sheep, horses, llamas, donkeys and other livestock assemble in the various buildings, barns, and arenas of the large facility.

There is always the potential for animal disease to be passed on. The Office of the Kentucky State Veterinarian has representatives on hand to inspect each animal visually and to validate its documentation, to ensure health requirements have been met.

State Veterinarian Dr. Robert Stout said his department provides a staff of certified veterinarians and trained animal technicians to oversee the check-in of every animal at the Expo. Dr. John Moran and Associates of Flemingsburg, however, is the official vet for NAILE; Moran’s office is the working veterinarian for all of the animals lodged in the show barns.

Both men are employed by the state to ensure the safety of the animals and the public.  “We used to check the animals after they were already in the barns,” Stout said. “But as a precaution, we now check them outside prior to entry.”

Stout practiced on cattle and horses in Versailles, Ky., for 29 years before becoming the state veterinarian, and still sees a need for large-livestock vets.

“There are numerous factors contributing to the current shortage of large animal veterinarians,” he said. “Certainly the demographics of the pool of students has changed markedly. Today, the majority of students are women who do not come from a farm background. The once-common occurrence of a bright young farm boy going to vet school and returning home to go into practice rarely exists anymore.

“Today, most graduates chose companion-animal practices that offer 9-to-5 work schedules, higher salaries and predictable routines rather than the arduous, sometimes dangerous, work large-animal practitioners perform.”

As an example, he said in the “horse country” around Lexington, there are up to 150 veterinarians who work with nothing but horses. “However, there are fewer than a dozen in the region who practice food-animal medicine. In many other areas the availability of large animal veterinarians is even worse.”

Stout grew up in the rural area of Vevay, Ind., where his father before him was a food-animal vet.

For those wanting assistance in becoming a large-food-animal veterinarian, there is some good news. The USDA’s Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program (VMLRP), authorized by the National Veterinary Medical Services Act (NVMSA), will help qualified veterinarians offset a significant portion of debt incurred in the pursuit of their veterinary medicine degrees, in return for their service in high-priority veterinary shortage areas and situations. Also, depending on the state of practice, there may be similar incentives for graduates.

The Kentucky Large/Food Animal Veterinary Incentive Program is a specialized incentive project targeting veterinarians who have graduated from vet school or technicians or technologists who have completed an accredited program. This program is enabled by the Kentucky Agricultural Development Fund, with support from several key Kentucky agriculture organizations.

It will repay a portion of the outstanding student loans of an eligible veterinarian or veterinary technician or technologist. Those interested should contact the appropriate organizations for assistance in applying.