It’s an unfortunate fact of life. Everyone gets older, including farmers and veterinarians.
“In some areas we have practitioners who are starting to get a little long in the tooth,” said Dr. Wayne Tomlinson, extension veterinarian at Manitoba Agriculture’s Livestock Knowledge Centre.
“It’s a lot like the farming community, the vets mirror the community.”
To address the issue of aging vets in rural Manitoba, provincial agriculture minister Rosann Wowchuk announced Jan. 20 $330,000 in new funding to cover the cost of two more seats in veterinary medicine at the University of Saskatchewan.
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With the increase Manitoba would fund 15 students at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine, Wowchuk said at Manitoba Ag Days held in Brandon Jan. 20-22.
The cost per seat for the 2007-08 school year was $74,000, according to a provincial news release. Of that amount, the federal government covers 50 percent, provincial governments are responsible for 40 percent and the student pays 10 percent, Tomlinson said.
The funding for two more students was one of 33 recommendations in the Veterinary Services Task Force report in Manitoba, which was also released Jan. 20.
“They were looking at how we can make sure … that we have veterinarians out there in the field, available to the livestock producer,” Tomlinson noted, summarizing the purpose of the task force.
But that doesn’t mean there is a crisis of rural vets in Manitoba, said Neil Hathaway, a member of the task force.
“There’s not a place (in Manitoba) in dire straits,” said Hathaway, a retired dairy farmer from Deloraine, Man. Hathaway noted that the situation is similar to another rural shortage.
“It’s exactly the same as our human health, to get them (doctors) to come to smaller centres,” he said.
During a media scrum following her announcement, Wowchuk was asked if the funding for the new seats is conditional and would require students to work in rural Manitoba after graduation.
“We do have some incentives for our students if they come back to work in Manitoba,” she said, but there won’t be restrictions on the funding.
Tomlinson agreed, noting that freedom of choice must be honoured.
“They (the selection committee) try to select for people with an aptitude or desire to go into food animal practice … and have some bursaries that are tied to return for service,” he said.
On top of the funding for more students, Wowchuk noted that an important element of the task force’s report is a recommendation to develop a program that integrates animal health, vets and food safety.
“We know disease surveillance by well-trained veterinarians is important to our provincial economy, in helping to meet the requirements of our export customers,” she said.
