Farm Veterinarian Program

Keeping Farm Animals Healthy, Despite Vet Shortage

According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, 494 counties in the U.S. have more than 5,000 head of livestock, but no veterinarian.

More and more vets are choosing to live in cities and pursue more lucrative practices that specialize in pets. In fact, only 10% of students at the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine (the only vet school in the state) study large-animal medicine. In an average class of 120 students, only about a dozen of them will go  on and treat "food animals."

The Solution
Becoming a vet today is "extremely expensive." The average vet these days faces more than $100,000 in post-graduation obligations, and tuition now outpaces increases in vet earnings. Illinois Farm Bureau offsets that cost and makes farm veterinary more appealing with a one-of-a-kind program.

Illinois Veterinary Education & Training (IVET) offers interest-free loans while in vet school, up to $20,000 for food-animal vet students at the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine. The loan program requires that vets commit to a food animal practice and work in this field during the life of the loan repayment.

Student Timelines

• Download the IVET brochure now.
• Applications due in early January.
• Interviews are conducted in March.
• Loan proceeds are dispersed in August.