— From the N.C. Dept. of Agriculture & Consumer Services
Large animal veterinarians in North Carolina are eligible to apply for up to $25,000 in funding to help support their large animal practices.
The Large Animal Healthcare Enhancement funding opportunity is available to veterinarians who practice in one of the 70 North Carolina counties with a population of 100,000 or fewer and who spend at least 30 percent of their patient care providing large animal veterinary services.
“Large animal veterinarians are essential to North Carolina agriculture, but too many rural communities continue to face shortages of these critical professionals,” said Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler. “This program helps veterinarians invest in their practices, reduce educational debt and continue serving the livestock producers who depend on them.”
Grant funds may be used for repayment of educational loans related to the recipient’s veterinary degree, the purchase of equipment or technology for use in the recipient’s large animal veterinary practice or other uses approved by the advisory committee to promote and develop large animal veterinary practice in eligible counties.
The application period opens Aug. 14 and closes Oct. 14. Applicants who received funding during both of the two most recent funding rounds are not eligible to apply this year but may reapply in a future funding cycle. Other previous recipients remain eligible to apply.
Applications are available online at ncagr.gov/grants by clicking on the Large Animal Healthcare Enhancement Fund link. More information about the grant program is available on the program’s frequently asked questions page at ncagr.gov/large-animal-health-enhancement-fund-faq/download?attachment or by emailing LargeAnimalVetGrants@ncagr.gov.
The Large Animal Health Enhancement Advisory Committee will determine grant awards based on eligible applications. The committee includes the N.C. Commissioner of Agriculture, the State Veterinarian of North Carolina, the chief executive officer of the N.C. Agricultural Finance Authority, one designee from the Food Animal Scholars Program at North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine, two practicing large animal veterinarians, two representatives of the livestock industry, one designee appointed by Troxler and one designee appointed by the state veterinarian Dr. Mike Martin.
