U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins announced an action plan to increase the number of rural food animal veterinarians across the U.S. and recruit new veterinarians to join USDA.

According to the Kansas Livestock Association, the plan focuses on five objectives to help address this growing shortage.

• Later this year, USDA will increase funding for the Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program and the Veterinary Services Grant Program, and move the application process online.
• The USDA Economic Research Service will gather data on the scope of the rural veterinary shortage and provide a report in mid-2026 that will be used by policymakers to address the issue.
• USDA will take steps to make federal service more financially attractive to help create a more viable veterinary workforce for the agency.
• To better educate veterinary schools and recent graduates about programs available to help finance the opening of clinics in rural areas, USDA will catalog relevant rural development programs, including the Business & Industry Loan Guarantees Program and the Community Facilities Program.
• To better determine why few veterinary school students come from rural areas and even fewer graduates enter into a production animal practice, USDA will hold listening sessions with industry stakeholders between now and October 1.