Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
11/06/2026 | Press release | Archived content
Large Animal Veterinarians Receive Grants to Expand Services in Rural Virginia
Large Animal Veterinarians Receive Grants to Expand Services in Rural Virginia
VDACS and the Virginia Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission award $890,000 to seven large animal veterinarians
Richmond, Va. - The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) and the Virginia Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission (TRRC) today announced seven veterinarians have been awarded Large Animal Veterinary Grants totaling $890,000 in the second year of an effort to increase large animal veterinary services across the Commonwealth.
There is an ongoing critical shortage of large animal veterinarians in Virginia and across the country, which has serious implications for animal health, farm operations, food safety, and the agricultural economy. The VDACS Large Animal Veterinary Grant Program, launched in 2025, is intended to incentivize veterinarians who primarily care for livestock, poultry, and equines, to establish or grow a sustainable large animal veterinary practice in the Commonwealth. The TRRC program was established alongside the VDACS grant to increase the availability of veterinary services for livestock producers in Southern and Southwest Virginia.
This year's VDACS Large Animal Grant awarded four recipients $110,000 each, while TRRC funded three grants of $150,000 each in Southern and Southwest Virginia. The grant awards will be used to expand and sustain large animal veterinary practices by hiring veterinarians, purchasing equipment, outfitting mobile veterinary units, and expanding haul-in capacity.
"The livestock industry is vital to our economy and our food supply, and Governor Spanberger and I are committed to helping producers and rural communities to remain sustainable long into the future." said Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry Katie Frazier. "These grants provide key support to keep our large animal veterinary practices operating in areas of the Commonwealth most in need, ensuring the long-term health of our food supply and viability of our livestock operations."
"We have seen incredibly high-quality candidates submit applications in the first two years of this grant," said Dr. Charlie Broaddus, VDACS State Veterinarian. "We know we have great veterinarians in the Commonwealth, which is why we're excited to be able to use these state funds wisely to keep our large animal veterinarians in practice and supporting our livestock farmers. The industry continues to tackle this veterinarian shortage in a variety of ways, and we think this grant is a valuable tool in our toolbelt."
"Livestock producers are an essential component of the rural economy that the Virginia Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission serves, so we are proud to offer this innovative grant program to support the large animal veterinarians on which they rely," said TRRC Chairman, Delegate Will Morefield. "Developing creative solutions and powerful programs to meet the unique needs of our region is something at which the Commission excels. We are also supportive of partnerships that benefit our constituents and thank our friends at VDACS for their awards enhancing veterinarian services available to our livestock producers."
Recipients of the 2026 VDACS Large Animal Veterinary Grant are:
Dr. Jacob Barnard of Gretna, Va.
Dr. Rodney Cole of Amelia, Va.
Dr. Melinda McCall of Louisa, Va.
Dr. Alexandru Pop of Christiansburg, Va.
Recipients of the 2026 TRRC Large Animal Veterinary Incentive Program are:
Dr. Charles Hable of Stuart, Va.
Dr. Lincoln Montgomery-Rodgers of Buckingham, Va.
Dr. Thomas VanDyke of Abingdon, Va.
Dr. Thach Winslow was named Virginia Large Animal Veterinary Workforce Coordinator, by the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine at Virginia Tech, in order to support these grants and ensure they complement cross-sector efforts to drive long-term growth in large animal veterinary services across the Commonwealth.
"It's important that these grant dollars are invested in ways that multiply and drive exponential growth for Virginia's large animal veterinary practices," Virginia Large Animal Veterinary Workforce Coordinator Dr. Thach Winslow said. "The application and selection process focuses on proposals that have viable plans to increase the quantity of veterinarians or the quality of services, or both. The rural veterinarian shortage is a complex problem with no easy solution, but funding from state and industry support is enabling us to address the issue at multiple levels. These grants for current practitioners can provide quicker outcomes while we also look to make changes that will improve the future pipeline of large animal veterinarians."
Grant recipients are chosen by a panel of industry representatives using a standardized scoring rubric that considers applicants' ability to have significant, long-term impact on their communities. The judging panel included the State Veterinarian as well as representatives from TRRC, Virginia Farm Bureau, Virginia Board of Veterinary Medicine, Virginia Cooperative Extension, Virginia Academy of Food Animal Practitioners, the Virginia Veterinary Medical Association, and the Virginia Cattlemen's Association.
"Livestock farmers have faced a variety of challenges this year, and access to veterinary care remains a top priority for Virginia Farm Bureau," said Virginia Farm Bureau President Scott Sink. "We appreciate the Governor and the General Assembly's continued commitment to large animal veterinary services through this grant program. Previous grant recipients have made meaningful investments that improve service to their clients, and we look forward to the positive impact this year's awards will have on farmers and rural communities across the Commonwealth."
"Cattle producers depend on services large animal veterinarians provide," said Virginia Cattlemen's Association Executive Director Brandon Reeves. "Virginia Cattlemen's Association fully supports the Large Animal Veterinary Grant Program and congratulates this year's award recipients."
Funds will be disbursed over a multi-year period, helping to keep large animal veterinarians committed to their local communities and able to sustain their practice. Grant funds may be used for a variety of business expenses, from practice establishment and expansion, to student loan repayment, technician salaries, equipment, and more.
For more information on these grants, visit the VDACS Large Animal Veterinary Grant webpage. Large animal veterinarians looking for additional financial support can refer to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Veterinary Services Grant Program webpage, and the USDA Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program, which opens for applications in February 2027. Large animal veterinarians in Virginia looking for any type of assistance can contact Dr. Thach Winslow, Virginia Large Animal Veterinary Workforce Coordinator, at 540-320-0717, or [email protected].
Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services published this content on November 06, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on November 13, 2026 at 19:30 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]