New Mexico is offering up to $80,000 in student loan repayment to veterinarians who commit to serving rural communities. Eligible recipients provide care for food-producing livestock, including cattle, sheep, goats, and poultry.
Nationwide, there’s been a drastic decline in the number of veterinarians working with these animals and experts at Johns Hopkins University wrote in a 2023 report that this endangers public health by compromising food safety and curtailing detection of infectious diseases.
The Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program is designed to recruit and retain veterinarians who provide this care in rural, frontier and tribal communities.
Heather Romero, director of Financial Aid at the New Mexico High Education Department, said rural communities face unique challenges when it comes to attracting vets.
“Geographic isolation, high education debt, and the demand for on-call responsibilities. So we’re hoping with this program that we’ll be able to help recruit and retain individuals in these really critical areas,” said Romero.
Vets who receive the award must commit to serving rural communities for at least four years. Romero said improving access to veterinary care benefits more than ranchers and producers.
“I think adequate veterinary services is going to help strengthen the food safety, animal disease observation and just emergency response capabilities to these rural communities here in New Mexico,” said Romero.
Since the program launched, eight vets have received loan repayment awards and Romero said the goal is to continue to give 10 awards each year for a four-year term.
Applications are open through August 1.
This coverage is supported by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and KUNM listeners like you.
