Amidst a growing concern for a lack of access to veterinary services in rural Kansas, a group of statewide organizations and higher education leadership have combined resources to form the Rural Veterinary Workforce Development (RVWD) Taskforce. The objective of RVWD is to promote the development and retention of excellent veterinarians to ensure a long-term adequate supply of rural practitioners to serve the needs of agricultural communities.

The taskforce has developed an online survey where livestock producers are encouraged to provide feedback and give these issues a voice. Producers can directly provide feedback through this link: bit.ly/Rural-Vet-Workforce-Survey. The survey should take less than five minutes to complete.

The survey will help the taskforce to understand what gaps exist and learn more about why people are having a hard time finding veterinary support. Responses generated by the survey will contribute to development of a strategy to solve concerns related to rural veterinary needs across the state, whether that means specific services, or a lack of people to perform those services.

Members of the Rural Veterinary Workforce Development Taskforce include leadership from the Kansas Department of Agriculture, Kansas Livestock Association, Kansas Farm Bureau, Kansas Veterinary Medical Association, Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine, and Kansas State University College of Agriculture.