Survey data reinforces challenges in food animal medicine

By DR. SUE BILLINGS, Deputy State Veterinarian

The Kentucky Office of the State Veterinarian (OSV) conducted a survey of veterinary practices in January and February 2010. The purpose of this survey was to collect needed information on the current status of food animal practice within the state.  This data was needed to respond to the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) call for nominations of veterinarian shortage situations in Kentucky.

The NIFA Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program received funding from the federal government and made a call for nominations in January.  The NIFA program predetermined how many nominations each state could make, and Kentucky was allotted five nominations.  NIFA guidelines stated that the majority of nominations be for areas that could support a food animal veterinarian spending at least 30 percent or up to 100 percent of their practice hours doing food animal medicine.

If NIFA approves the nominated areas submitted by the OSV, they will be listed on the NIFA web site.  NIFA may repay up to $25,000 per year on student loans for individuals that commit to stay in an area for three years. Visit the NIFA Web site at: http://www.csrees.usda.gov/nea/animals/in_focus/an_health_if_vmlrp_about.html

The OSV Veterinary Practice survey was conducted by Division of Animal Health staff during personal visits to veterinary clinics in their areas or by a telephone call.  The metropolitan areas of Louisville and Lexington were not surveyed because the emphasis of the questionnaire was designed for food animal veterinarians.  The statistical and geographic information collected on the questionnaires was utilized in tandem with National Agricultural Statistics Service data on livestock numbers in Kentucky counties.  The OSV appreciates the cooperation of veterinarians and veterinary clinic personnel in assisting with this survey.  Some veterinarians may have been missed in this effort, but the data appears to be comprehensive when compared to other veterinarian databases available.

Three hundred and five veterinary practices were surveyed with 134, or 44 percent, offering some food animal services.  These 134 practices were located in 84 Kentucky counties.  No veterinary practice was found in 23 Kentucky counties, and 13 counties had only small animal and/or equine practices.  The remainder of the data provided represents responses from the 134 practices that provide some food animal (FA) services.

Fifty-six percent of 132 FA practices had only one veterinarian providing FA services, 22 percent had two FA veterinarians, 10 percent had three FA veterinarians, and 12 percent had four or more.   The percentage of practice time devoted to food animal services ranged from 1 percent to 100 percent as shown in Table 1.

Table 1.  Per Cent of Time Spent on FA Services

Most food animal practices provide emergency service 24 hours a day and serve numerous counties surrounding the one where the practice is located.  Eighty-six percent make emergency after-hours calls in addition to their regular work day, and all but 23 indicated they serve at least one or more surrounding counties.  Farm calls were made by 94 percent of the FA respondents, and truck-in facilities were available in 65 percent of the practices.

Several questions addressed the current status of food animal medicine opportunities in Kentucky and the reasons for the changes that are occurring.  Ninety-four out of 128 food animal veterinarians, or 73 percent, indicated that the practice opportunities were declining, and only 9 percent indicated there were increasing opportunities.  Most respondents selected numerous reasons that were listed on the survey for the decline of food animal medicine; the most often selected reasons were reduction in farm land and urbanization, the economy, and the utilization of non-veterinarians for assistance or advice.  Other reasons selected or written in included the veterinarian’s choice to pursue other types of practice, the lower income derived from food animal practice, the heavy debt load of new graduates, and the availability of pharmaceuticals direct to the producer with no client-patient relationship established.

The challenges facing food animal medicine have been reinforced by the answers collected in this survey.   Many aspects of food animal medicine as it relates to regulatory control of animal diseases have changed over the last few decades.  But accredited food animal veterinarians are a vital link in the system to prevent the introduction of a disease, to recognize foreign animal diseases and to protect the health of livestock.  As more emphasis is placed on “food safety” for humans, the future may hold additional new responsibilities for food animal practitioners.