A national shortage of veterinarians in rural areas is hobbling the Bay State’s farming communities, and the lack of doting country vets has some specialists expressing worry about safe food production.
“If you don’t have a vet there to keep everything healthy and on track, you can really see the downturn,” said Heather Lord, herd manager at Highlawn Farm in Lee, which has some 200 dairy cows.
A shortage of food-animal veterinarians places stress on producers and affects the health of livestock, experts say, especially in the key areas of disease and pathogens.
According to data from the American Veterinary Medical Association, Berkshire County has only one food-animal vet for 9,401 food animals; Bristol County has one for 8,436 animals; and Franklin County has 11,163 food animals and just two food-animal vets. Read more…
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