At first glance, Oklahoma, Kansas, Indiana, Maryland and Ohio shouldn’t have much in common.
Oklahoma’s sprawling cow-calf operations look very different from Maryland’s smaller, increasingly fragmented agricultural landscape. Kansas is home to one of the nation’s largest cattle industries, while Indiana supports a diverse mix of beef, dairy, swine and poultry production. Ohio’s livestock sector has transformed dramatically over the past two decades, with expanding swine and poultry production alongside one of the country’s largest dairy industries.
Yet after four years of veterinary workforce assessments led by Farm Journal Foundation, all five states arrived at many of the same conclusions. The reports consistently identified an aging veterinary workforce, changing agricultural demographics, increasing pressure on rural practices and a growing realization that recruiting veterinarians is only one piece of the puzzle.
“We know there are no quick or simple solutions,” says Dr. Rustin Moore, dean of The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine. “Solving these challenges and these shortages will require a multifaceted approach.”
Together, the assessments suggest the future of rural veterinary medicine depends not only on bringing veterinarians into rural practice, but on creating careers and communities that encourage them to stay.
One Statistic That Defines Each State
Different Agricultural Systems, Similar Workforce Challenges
One of the most compelling aspects of the five assessments wasn’t how similar the states were. It was how different they were.
Oklahoma, the first state to complete a workforce assessment, documented a changing agricultural landscape. The number of farms declined overall, but growth occurred at both ends of the spectrum as very small farms and operations larger than 2,000 acres increased while mid-sized farms disappeared. Even in one of the nation’s leading cattle states, the number of cattle farms continued to decline.
Kansas told a different story. Cattle inventories remained relatively stable, but the number of cattle farms steadily fell as operations consolidated. Swine production followed a similar pattern, with more animals raised on fewer farms. In other words, Kansas wasn’t losing cattle production. It was losing cattle producers.
Indiana’s livestock industry became increasingly specialized. Poultry production expanded rapidly, swine operations grew larger and the number of farms exceeding 2,000 acres climbed by more than 70%, even as many mid-sized farms disappeared.
Maryland stood apart from every other state. While small farms continued to increase, it was the only assessment to report declines among the largest farms as well. Rather than simple consolidation, the state’s agricultural landscape reflected broader pressures on farmland and rural communities.
Ohio revealed another version of agricultural change. Overall farm numbers remained relatively stable, but livestock production intensified dramatically. Hog inventories nearly doubled despite fewer swine farms, while poultry production expanded rapidly, illustrating how veterinary demand can change even when farm numbers appear relatively constant.
Although each state presented a different picture, they all pointed toward the same reality: veterinary workforce planning can no longer rely on assumptions built around the agricultural landscape of 20 or 30 years ago.
Retirement is Only Part of the Story
Across every assessment, another trend emerged. A significant portion of the rural veterinary workforce is approaching retirement.
Oklahoma estimated that 39% of veterinarians could retire within the next decade. Indiana and Ohio projected that roughly one-third of their veterinarians would reach retirement over the same period, while Maryland estimated that 35% could retire within 15 years. Kansas did not include the same age analysis, but identified similar concerns about maintaining veterinary capacity in rural communities.
Those numbers are concerning on their own. Combined with rapidly changing agriculture, they present a much larger challenge.
“No one’s really given thought to the impact of this growth of small farms,” says Keith Rogers, senior consultant with Farm Journal Foundation.
As agriculture evolves, veterinary demand evolves with it. Small-acreage farms often require the same access to veterinary care as larger commercial operations, while larger and more specialized farms demand increasingly sophisticated expertise.
Simply replacing retiring veterinarians will not be enough if the profession is serving a fundamentally different agricultural landscape.
Beyond Veterinary Recruitment
Perhaps the biggest shift over the course of the initiative was moving beyond a conversation centered on recruitment. Early discussions often focused on educational debt and attracting more graduates to rural practice. The assessments broadened that conversation.
“These shortages don’t exist in a vacuum,” says Madeline Skellie, program manager for Farm Journal Foundation’s Veterinary Workforce Solutions Program.
Each report highlighted different priorities based on local needs, but several themes surfaced repeatedly:
- Supporting early-career veterinarians through mentorship.
- Helping practice owners prepare for succession.
- Expanding educational pathways into food-animal medicine.
- Improving workforce data.
- Strengthening collaboration among veterinary colleges, producer organizations, government agencies and rural communities.
The reports also demonstrated that states are pursuing different solutions.
Oklahoma has been particularly successful using the Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program, while Kansas has effectively leveraged federal workforce grants. Indiana has invested in rural practice expansion, Ohio has created new educational pathways through programs like Moving from Meows to Moos, and Maryland’s assessment identified opportunities to better utilize existing federal workforce resources.
There is no single blueprint. The solutions must reflect the needs of each state’s producers, veterinary practices and communities.
The Question Has Changed
“You simply must understand the cause and the factors that have created the shortage to be able to efficiently address it,” Rogers says.
That philosophy has become one of the defining lessons of the initiative.
Rather than treating every shortage as the same problem, the assessments encouraged states to first understand the unique forces shaping veterinary demand within their own agricultural systems.
Ironically, that deeper understanding also revealed something unexpected.
Five states with very different agricultural economies uncovered different symptoms, but many of the same underlying causes.
- An aging workforce.
- Changing agricultural demographics.
- Growing pressure on rural practices.
- The need for stronger mentorship, succession planning and collaboration.
Farm Journal Foundation’s synthesis report captures that evolution by encouraging veterinarians and producers to stop asking why graduates aren’t choosing rural practice and instead ask what can be changed to make rural practice somewhere they want to build a career.
That may be the biggest takeaway from four years of work.
The conversation is no longer simply about filling vacancies. It’s about building practices, communities and careers that make rural veterinary medicine sustainable for the next generation.
