Vets Wanted: Nevada-Utah Partnership May Save the Livestock Industry

By Kristen Kniep  

Nevada News and Views

Here’s a bit of good news out of Carson City and Logan, Utah: Nevada is taking real steps to fix its veterinarian shortage, especially in rural areas, and doing it without a giant federal program or another layer of Washington red tape.

Back in 2022, the Nevada Legislature approved Senate Bill 342, which set up a deal with Utah State University (USU).

The plan? Reserve 70 seats over 10 years at USU’s new veterinary school specifically for students from Nevada. That means local students get training, and Nevada gets more vets.

Simple, smart, and sorely needed.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 243 areas across the country — including many in Nevada -are dealing with serious vet shortages.

The hardest hit are places where ranchers and farmers rely on large animal vets, and those vets are getting harder to find. The American Veterinary Medical Association says demand for large animal vets is growing 5 percent every year.

That’s where this partnership comes in.

Dr. Dirk Vanderwall, the newly named dean of the USU College of Veterinary Medicine, helped launch the program. He brings years of experience from a similar regional model called the WIMU program, which includes Washington, Idaho, Montana, and Utah.

Vanderwall says the idea is to build something that works for both Utah and Nevada. “A rising tide lifts all boats,” he told Nevada Newsmakers.

The first full class of vet students will arrive at USU in Fall 2025. Thanks to the deal, Nevada students will have reserved seats, giving them a clear path to join the profession and come back to help their communities.

This program checks a lot of boxes:

1. Local Control Over Federal Overreach

Nevada and Utah took matters into their own hands. The deal was made through state legislatures, not federal mandates. That means fewer strings attached and more flexibility to meet real needs.

Compare that to the federal Veterinary Services Grant Program, which sends money from Washington with pages of rules and a long waiting list. This partnership gets results faster — and without turning to Congress every time a cow needs a check-up.

2. Market-Based Problem Solving

There’s a clear need for more large animal vets. This program helps meet that demand by expanding the number of students who can get trained, not by forcing anyone into the profession or creating new regulations.

It’s a free-market solution that encourages private effort and job creation.

3. Investing in Our Own

By reserving seats for Nevada students, the program helps our own kids build careers while serving their state. Instead of importing talent from who-knows-where, we’re investing in Nevadans to fill the gap.

That’s personal responsibility and local empowerment in action.

4. Smart Use of Tax Dollars

Rather than build a brand-new vet school from scratch in Nevada (which would take years and cost millions) state leaders teamed up with Utah. That’s smart budgeting. The school already exists, and our students get access without breaking the bank.

Some critics worry about becoming too dependent on another state. Others don’t like using public funds at all. And anytime accreditation is involved, some conservatives keep an eye out for federal red tape creeping in through the back door.

But overall, this partnership is a rare example of government doing something right — working together across state lines to solve a real problem, without bloating the bureaucracy.

With the first group of Nevada students starting classes next fall, we’ll soon find out just how well this works.

If it succeeds, it might even become a model for tackling other workforce shortages — whether it’s doctors, nurses, or other skilled trades — using the same conservative playbook: local solutions, smart spending, and trusting states to lead.

Now that’s something to wag your tail about.