VMLRP Shortage Situations
NIFA releases Veterinarian Shortage Situations every fiscal year. This page provides information to the link of the shortage situations map, shortage area types, the process for nominating a veterinarian shortage situation, and the shortage situation nomination form.
The designated Veterinarian Shortage Situations map contains all shortage situation designations for each Fiscal Year (FY) application cycle. All states shaded in blue have at least one designated shortage situation. The shortage situations will appear in the table below the map. Additional details for that area can be found by clicking on the Shortage ID code or the nomination form PDF of the area of interest. Previous years' designations can be found by selecting the year of interest in the FY filter (data not currently available for all program years).
Veterinary Services Shortage Situations Map
Shortage Types
Type I - at least 80% FTE Private Practice Food Supply Veterinary Medicine
Type II - at least 30% FTE Private Practice Food Supply Veterinary Medicine in a Rural Area
Type III - at least 49% FTE Public Practice
Nomination Process
On an annual or as needed basis, NIFA releases a Federal Register Notice soliciting nominations for veterinary shortage situations from all State Animal Health Officials (SAHOs; includes chief animal health officials for US insular areas and D.C.) and appropriate Federal Animal Health Official(s) for federal lands allocations. Please be sure to search and review the current "Solicitation of Veterinary Shortage Situation Nominations for the VMLRP" on the Federal Register Notice carefully before nominating an area. NIFA strongly encourages all SAHOs to involve leading animal health experts in their state in the identification and prioritization of shortage situation nominations.
A review group of federal and state animal health experts is convened by NIFA to evaluate submitted nominations. Following the review, this group categorizes each nomination as "Recommended" or "Not Recommended" for designation as a shortage situation. On behalf of the Secretary of Agriculture, the NIFA Administration makes the final decision for each designation. The method used for reviewing each shortage situation nomination can be found on the VMLRP Shortage Nomination Review Process webpage.
Each state is allotted a maximum number of nominations that can be submitted each fiscal year. View the FY 2020-2022 Maximum Nomination Allocation table to see each states' maximum number of allocations.
Use the Veterinarian Shortage Situation Nomination Form to nominate a shortage situation for the current fiscal year cycle. Only one shortage type can be designated per nomination. Additional instructions and considerations for filling out the nomination form can be found in the Nomination Guide. Updated news, events, and deadlines related to the shortage nomination period can be found by visiting the VMLRP News and Timeline.
For further information, contact: VMLRP