My nearly 5-year-old daughter, Scarlett, dreams of becoming a veterinarian one day. She fell in love with caring for others watching the popular cartoon character “Doc McStuffins” diagnose and treat broken toys and stuffed animals.

In real life, Scarlett has strong role models to look up to – our ranch’s primary veterinary clinic is run by two women. From pregnancy-checking cows to semen-testing bulls, to providing vaccines and treatment interventions for calves, she often gets a front seat view of what veterinary medicine actually looks like.

Of course, she is young and has plenty of time to decide what she wants to do when she grows up. In the meantime, we will continue to encourage this passion of hers because we believe it’s a good field to pursue, as the opportunities are endless in the field of animal care and veterinary medicine.

However, we also recognize that this field has its challenges. According to the American Veterinary Medical Assoc. (AVMA), the average student debt for newly graduated veterinarians exceeds $180,000. What’s more, the disparity of income between large and small companion animals makes it difficult to attract new talent committed toward working in food animal medicine.

As a result, producers are seeing an increased shortage in their rural communities of veterinarians with the necessary skills to work on livestock. In fact, USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture has determined that 190 regions in 44 states are suffering from shortages of food animal and public health veterinarians in 2019.

To address this issue and to attract new talent in the field of veterinary medicine, Sens. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) and Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) reintroduced the Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program Enhancement Act (S.1163). This bipartisan effort would help address the regional shortages of large-animal veterinarians in agricultural communities.

If passed, the bill would eliminate taxes on programs that encourage veterinarians to practice in underserved areas. The legislation has additional support from cosponsors including Sens. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Cory Gardner (R-Colo.), Angus King (I-Maine), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Bob Melendez (D-N.J.) and Jim Rich (R-Idaho).

"Veterinary shortages are one of the many significant challenges facing farmers and ranchers today," says John de Jong, AVMA president. “If we don't take steps to address these shortages, we're likely going to see an increase in animal disease incidents that impact our economy and even public health.”

The Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment (VMLR) program was introduced in 2003 and worked to address income disparity and incentivize veterinarians to serve in high-need areas, specifically in the field of food animal medicine. The program provides educational loan assistance – and while it’s been a largely successful program, currently the VMLR receives more applicants than funding allows.

If passed, S.1163 would end a withholding tax applied to program awards, which would free up additional funding for rural veterinary care. This would expand the program to reach more communities.

“Access to quality animal care remains critical to the needs of Idaho’s agricultural economy,” said Crapo. “Far too often, ranchers and farmers cannot access adequate care for their livestock due to a lack of veterinarians in rural areas. Our legislation will facilitate an increase of veterinary doctors serving in rural areas where they are needed most, helping to strengthen rural economies and protecting the safety of our food supply.”

AVMA calls it a “common-sense solution to a serious problem.”

As more veterinarians pursue companion animal health care in urban areas, it will become increasingly important to incentivize and attract knowledgeable and skilled practitioners to rural agricultural communities as well. The Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program Enhancement Act may be a good place to start.

And as for Scarlett, I still think the opportunities are endless in food animal care. However, it is my hope that the issues of massive student loan debt and disparities in incomes for different types of veterinary practices will be things of the past by the time she is old enough to enter this field.

The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of Farm World. Readers with questions or comments for Amanda Radke may write to her in care of this publication.