USDA Unveils Action Plan to Tackle Rural Vet Shortages

🐄 
The USDA’s plan to address rural vet shortages

To address the shortages of veterinarians, particularly in livestock and food animal practice, the USDA has launched their strategy to recruit and retain veterinarians in underserved areas. The Rural Veterinary Action Plan (RVAP) is a designed to strengthen the nation’s agricultural and public health infrastructure. The initiative has received strong support from the AVMA, which views it as critical for protecting animal welfare, food supply, and public health.

The action plan outlines five core strategies:

1. Enhance and streamline veterinary grant programs

2. Analyze shortage areas to better forecast needs

3. Recruit and retain USDA veterinarians with improved pay and incentives

4. Catalog federal programs available to help veterinarians start rural practices,

5. Work with stakeholders, including veterinary colleges, to reduce barriers and boost rural recruitment.

In addition, wew investments include up to $15 million in loan repayment support through the Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program (VMLRP), targeted grants for rural practitioners, and plans to explore special pay rates, tuition reimbursements, and recruitment bonuses for federal veterinarians.

The USDA also highlighted the scale of the problem: 243 shortage areas have been designated in 2025, particularly affecting beef cattle practices. To create more sustainable solutions, the USDA will study workforce forecasting, expand outreach to rural students, and improve awareness of financial tools like loan guarantees for veterinary practices. Listening sessions will run through October 1 to gather feedback from veterinarians, universities, and producers. In parallel, the AVMA continues to advocate for passage of the Rural Veterinary Workforce Act, which would end taxation on VMLRP awards, making loan repayment benefits more impactful.

🐕️ 
How humans have altered animal physiology

A new study from the University of Montpellier shows that humans have significantly influenced animal size over the past 8,000 years. It has already been well documented that human choices, such as selective breeding, influence the size of domestic animals, but the latest research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, shines a new light on our impact on wild animals as well.

Researchers analyzed more than 225,000 animal bones from archaeological sites in southern France, measuring both wild and domestic species. For thousands of years, both groups followed similar patterns—growing or shrinking in response to environmental conditions and human land use. But about 1,000 years ago, things changed dramatically.

From the Middle Ages onward, human activity became the dominant factor shaping animal size. Domestic animals like cattle, pigs, sheep, and chickens grew larger as people selectively bred them for more meat, milk, and productivity. Meanwhile, wild animals such as deer, foxes, and rabbits became smaller, driven by pressures like overhunting and habitat loss. It’s an interesting study that highlights how strongly human choices have shaped animal evolution and underscores the importance of considering long-term human impacts in modern conservation planning.

🪱 
First human screwworm case

Two weeks ago, we covered the rise of screwworms, and the United State’s emergency approvals to combat the outbreak. Today, we have confirmation that the first U.S. human case of travel-associated New World screwworm (NWS) has been confirmed in Maryland.

The infected individual recently returned from El Salvador, and while the CDC and health agencies are investigating no domestic spread has been detected yet. Federal officials emphasize the risk to people and livestock remains very low.

Although this case does not appear linked to U.S. transmission, federal and state agencies are reinforcing monitoring and prevention. The USDA, HHS, and FDA have recently expanded initiatives, including enhanced surveillance, emergency authorizations for animal drugs, and new public resources to help veterinarians and producers recognize and report signs of NWS.

Courtesy of the AVMA, here are a few resources to keep you informed and up to date:

• The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has two great resources: a brochure and a fact sheet, on NWS that covers what to look for and how to report an infestation

• USDA’s National Veterinary Accreditation Program also has developed a training module called “New World Screwworm: A 21st Century Perspective.”

• In addition, the AVMA has created a resource page on the New World screwworm, including information about its changing geographic distribution, how NWS infestation is treated, and what can be done to prevent its spread.

🚀 
Quick Hits

Here are some of the other stories that caught our eye and we're following this week from around the veterinary world and animal kingdom: