State Veterinarian Staffing Challenges and Workload Trends Over 10 Years
Drastic changes in staff numbers and workload at the Office of State Veterinarian are evident over the past decade. Despite significant increases in workload due to various factors like the rise in the population of farmed cervids and poultry flocks, the staff has been reduced from 69 in 2002 to a low of 36 in 2021, before increasing to 40 in 2022. This strain on resources was highlighted during emergency responses to natural disasters and disease outbreaks. The images show a clear visual representation of these changes in staff numbers and workload metrics.
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The Office of State Veterinarian Workload and staffing challenges has changed drastically over the past 10 years A snapshot: Since 2002, Office of State Veterinarian staff has been reduced from 69 to a low of 36 in 2021; in Commissioner Quarles effort s to re-build OSV, today it has 40 staff members Meanwhile, since 2015, workload has increased drastically: Population of farmed cervids from 1,422 to 3,565 # of Backyard Poultry flocks enrolled in National Poultry Improvement Program from 63 to 158 # of Import Certificate Inspections from 3,915 to 23,711 # of Export Certificate Inspections from 10,993 to 41,893 The deployment of personnel and resources brought to light the critical staff shortage as OSV staff took on emergency response roles with the December 2021 & January 2022 tornado disasters, flooding in eastern KY in July 2022, and multiple High Path Avian Influenza outbreaks in addition to their day-to-day tasks.
OSV TOTAL STAFF 80 70 69 60 62 60 57 54 50 49 49 40 41 40 39 30 20 10 0 2002-2004 2004-2006 2006-2008 2008-2010 2010-2012 2012-2014 2014-2016 2016-2018 2018-2020 2020-2022
Number of Farmed Cervid Herds 140 122 115 120 107 98 100 87 83 80 67 64 60 51 40 20 0 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Total Number of Farmed Cervids 4000 3565 3500 3038 3000 2590 2500 2062 2031 2000 1749 1507 1422 1500 1000 500 0 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Total Number of Backyard Flocks Enrolled in the National Poultry Improvement Program 180 169 160 158 156 151 140 136 120 100 95 80 78 65 63 60 54 40 20 0 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
Total Number of Import CVI's Processed by OSV 30000 25000 23711 20000 15000 10000 5000 3915 0 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
TOTAL NUMBER OF EXPORT CVI'S PROCESSED BY OSV 45000 40000 41893 40502 40273 35000 33869 30000 25000 20000 15000 15868 15690 12198 10000 10993 10438 8885 5000 0 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
The Kentucky Department of Agriculture requests funding in the 2024 2026 Biennial Budget The request will provide 4 positions in the new Emergency Division and 11 in the Field Division (6 in FY 25 & 5 in FY 26): 4th Q FY 2024 FY 2025 FY 2026 Emergency Division Personnel $96,200 $361,100 $361,100 Operations $57,700 $82,800 $82,800 Field Division Personnel $396,900 $725,600 Operations $156,800 $261,500 TOTAL $153,900 $997,600 $1,431,000
KDA Update Veterinary Shortage Activity Two Stakeholder s Dialogues on the Status of Large Animal Veterinarians June and November of 2022 Commissioner appointed Veterinary Shortage Working Group (VSWG) in February 2023 22 members representing all segments of animal agriculture, the veterinary industry, and higher educational institutional leaders Three VSWG meetings plus numerous committee meetings Four committees and focuses: 1) Developing a strong pipeline of Kentucky Students to veterinary school 2) Opportunities in veterinary school, what should Kentucky focus on to assist 3) From veterinary school to rural and large animal practice, what can this Working Group do 4) Keeping Veterinarians in rural and large animal practice, what can this Working Group do VSWG will meet on November 28, to finalize and approve their report
KDA Update Veterinary Shortage Activity KDA accomplished to date: KAFC: Large/Food Animal Veterinary Loan Program KADB: Large/Food Animal Veterinary Incentives Program During 2023, KDA partnered on the national level with Farm Journal Foundation (FJF) and NASDA FJF Study: Addressing the Persistent Shortage of Food Animal Veterinarians and Its Impact on Rural Communities Member of the FJF Rural Veterinary Mapping Group Washington D.C. U.S. Senate established the Veterinary Medicine Caucus to focus on increasing awareness, advancing legislation on veterinary-related issues The Rural Veterinary Workforce Act (S. 2829) introduced in September to address the critical shortage of Veterinarians practicing in rural areas Commissioner Quarles participated in countless media interviews to raise awareness to the issue
Questions? Commissioner Dr. Ryan F. Quarles Keith L. Rogers Chief of Staff (502) 234-8022 (cell) KeithL.Rogers@ky.gov www.kyagr.com Dr. Steve Velasco III State Veterinarian (502)782-5920 Steve.Velasco@ky.gov www.kyagr.com/statevet
