The Academy of Rural Veterinarians: Grassroots Innovation to Address the Rural Veterinarian Shortage

In 2000, a group of dedicated rural veterinarians met while taking the Beef Cattle Production Management Course at the Great Plains Veterinary Education Center at Clay Center, NE. Upon finding an a common belief in the value of rural practice, this group began visiting each other's practices and offered critiques about ways that the practice could work more efficiently. One thing became almost immediately noticeable through these visits-the challenge of finding qualified associates interested in joining a rural practice.