New veterinary program is a good signal for livestock sector

Modern farmers can’t raise livestock without veterinary care. Nor can they conduct their affairs without the support of the people they feed.

Which means this week they should be feeling pretty upbeat on both fronts.

Last week, the federal and provincial governments announced they were coming together to make as much as $4 million available to give farmers improved access to veterinary services.

At a news conference in Blyth, they unveiled what they are calling the Livestock Veterinary Innovation Initiative. It’s designed to help farmers particularly in rural and northern Ontario, where attracting veterinarians has been a chronic problem for ages.

Government officials realize this program can’t fix the shortage. But they feel it can address the problem as realistically as possible.

For one, it will focus on expanding telemedicine access. And it will put resources into mobile clinics to address the long distances between farmers and the already too-few animal health care providers.

The new program is expected to support requests for the likes of equipment to help veterinary practices deliver enhanced virtual care, diagnostic work and tele-medical support for farms.

Organizers will also look at funding portable, specialized, livestock handling equipment to help veterinary practices or farms manage animals while receiving care.

And finally, for veterinary professionals already in place in rural Ontario, this program will offer to help them use new equipment and techniques and deliver more efficient and accessible support to livestock farmers.

The bigger question of course is why does there continue to be a shortage of large- or food-animal veterinarians? Even with attractive local incentives, it’s still a challenge to get graduates to head north or to rural areas to hang their professional shingles.

The answer is complex. First, this challenge crosses disciplines and affects other professionals too. New graduates typically flock to more populated areas where services are more abundant.

Second, it takes years to graduate more veterinarians. And even when you do, there’s no guarantee that they’ll have an interest in large or food animals. Fewer veterinary students all the time

have a farm background, and working with large animals is foreign to them. Companion animals is where they’re the most comfortable, and around which they join or form practices.

That’s no secret to

Lisa Thompson, Ontario Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. At the news conference in Blyth, she noted the many complicated issues facing veterinarians and the provision of veterinary care to Ontario’s producers, including the challenge of increased demand for services amid persistent labour shortages.

To her, it’s more than a veterinarian shortage: This problem is a very stubborn obstacle in the quest to ensure Ontario’s food supply is secure.

The challenges plaguing this quest have been magnified through the pandemic.

“Veterinarians across Ontario have been working tirelessly to serve their clients and ensure the safety of our food supply during unprecedented times,” she said.

That’s true. And while the new Veterinary Livestock Innovation Initiative will help compensate for the veterinary shortage, the bigger drive must continue to find ways to make rural and farm practice attractive to veterinarians.