USDA Expands Efforts to Strengthen Rural Food Animal Veterinary Workforce and Protect America’s Food Supply

Sep 01, 2025

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins today announced a commitment to new actions (PDF, 1.2 MB) to increase the number of rural food animal veterinarians across the U.S. and recruit new veterinarians to join the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in their role to protect American ranchers, animals, and our food supply.

Secretary Rollins also announced two awardees of the Veterinary Services Grant Program which will allow for expanded capabilities to serve livestock producers in rural Mississippi and opened a new consolidated USDA office with the Rural Development, the Farm Service Agency, and the Mississippi Farm Bureau in line with USDA’s reorganization efforts. The Secretary was joined by Governor of Mississippi Tate Reeves, Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith of Mississippi, Mississippi State University (MSU) President Dr. Mark Keenum, and Mississippi Farm Bureau President Mike McCormick.

“Rural veterinarians are vital for the agricultural economy in the United States. Our farmers and ranchers rely on these critical services to prevent the transmission of animal disease, protect our food supply, and support America’s rural economy. As the number of rural food animal veterinarians continues to decline, USDA is putting Farmers First to ensure we build back our first line of defense in our animal food production system – the rural veterinarian.

Source : usda.gov

Video: Season 7, Episode 1: Managing Risk and Seeing Opportunities in U.S. Pork Production

Today’s episode features three guests discussing the similarities and differences between pork production in the United States and Brazil, along with strategies for managing risk in today’s industry while recognizing and acting on opportunities. First, Dr. Anne Caroline de Lara, executive manager of live pig production at Seara Alimentos, a JBS company in Brazil, is joined by Dr. Matthew Turner, head of operations for JBS Live Pork. Together, they discuss how labor, climate and ventilation challenges vary between Brazil and the United States, while underscoring their shared commitment to raising healthy pigs. They also point to lessons producers in both countries can take from one another’s systems and on-farm experiences. Then, Brady Reicks, risk manager at Reicks View Farms, shares his perspective on risk management, drawing from his background in markets and his transition into farming. He discusses how protecting margins varies by operation and offers practical approaches producers can use to make marketing and business decisions with greater confidence rather than hesitation.

Both conversations were recorded at recent industry events focused on swine livability, including the International Conference on Pig Livability and Iowa Swine Day.