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California livestock producers across the state are facing increasing challenges accessing food animal veterinary care, including routine herd health services, emergency response, and ranch calls. These shortages can impact animal welfare, producer operations, and the long-term viability of livestock agriculture in rural communities.
To help better document these challenges, California Farm Bureau is partnering with the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) to gather feedback from food animal producers through a short survey on veterinary access and availability.
The information collected may help support future veterinary shortage designations and strengthen participation in the USDA’s Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program (VMLRP). Through this program, veterinarians who commit to serving designated shortage areas for at least three years may qualify for up to $40,000 per year, for a total of up to $120,000 in student loan repayment assistance. Expanding participation in the program could help attract and retain more food animal veterinarians in underserved areas of California.
If you raise food animals, regardless of your accessibility to veterinary care, we encourage you to take a few minutes to complete the survey and share your experiences.
Examples of food animals are cow, pig, sheep, goat, deer, poultry all raised for consumption
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