CALF_News_August_September_2019

32 CALF News • August | September 2019 • www.calfnews.net T he Amarillo area, forever a kingpin of High Plains fed cattle and a vital source for cow-calf and stocker operations, is quickly becoming a major region for veterinary medical training with the new Texas Tech University School of Veterinary Medicine. The new veterinary school is set to open the fall of 2021. That comes after West Texas A&M University’s (WTAMU) addition of a new veteri- nary education program in Canyon to help prepare undergraduate students for entering veterinary training. The Texas Tech veterinary school dream came true when Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed the state budget into law on June 15, designating $17 million for the institution. The veterinary school had been on the semi-drawing board for years, during which time there was some hand-wringing as to whether it would ever happen. There were arguments for and against whether an entire new veterinary school New Texas Tech Vet School Gets State Approval By Larry Stalcup Contributing Editor was needed in Texas. Some officials and alumni from Texas A&M University contended that withWTAMU addi- tions to its veterinary-training program in the Panhandle area, the new school wasn’t reasonable. Texas Tech, Amarillo city leaders and others in the Panhandle claimed the school was justified to help supply the area with more, much-needed large animal veterinarians. Once the measure was approved by the state, immediate plans were made to start the project. The new school will be built at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in west Ama- rillo. It would be the only campus in the U.S. with a pharmacy, medical and veterinary school all together, say Texas Tech officials. Amarillo has provided millions of dol- lars to help spawn the project. The city depends greatly on the regional cattle feeding industry, as well as cow-calf and stocker operations and a massive dairy industry. Texas annually produces about 12 million cattle, about 13 percent the nation’s cattle inventory. Every year Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico feedyards finish about 6 million cattle, close to 30 percent of the nation’s total fed-cattle supply. Most are within a 150- mile radius of Amarillo. In addition, dairy is huge in the Panhandle, with 68 percent of Texas’ milk production. That’s up from only 1 percent nearly 40 years ago. Eight of the top 10 dairy counties in Texas are in the Panhandle. While the region has a large concentra- tion of cattle, the nearest veterinary school is Oklahoma State University in Stillwa- ter, 321 miles fromAmarillo. Then there’s Kansas State University, 471 miles away in Manhattan; Colorado State University, 497 miles away in Fort Collins; Texas A&M, 514 miles away in College Station (the only current veterinary school in Texas); and the University of Missouri, 709 miles away in Columbia. Texas Tech officials note that in 2016, there were about 6,600 veterinarians in Texas. However,“the overwhelming majority of these veterinarians practice in urban and suburban areas, creating a mal- distribution of veterinarians across the state. In Texas, 74 percent of its counties have fewer than 50,000 people. In these counties, more than 40 percent of licensed veterinarians are over the age of 60.” The Amarillo area welcomes a new Texas Tech School of Veterinary Medicine to help provide needed training for more large animal vets. Regional cattle on feed represent about 30 percent of the nation’s fed beef supply.