Past, present, and future

rural veterinarian

Abstract

Historically, the term "rural practice" was synonymous with mixed animal, large animal, or food animal practice, and veterinary practitioners devoted the majority of their time ministering to food animals. This is no longer true. Rural practitioners' caseloads have fundamentally changed, with most mixed practices in western Canada now devoting more time to companion (small animals and horses) versus food animals. Not only has rural practice become more companion animal-oriented, but the services being provided to producers is evolving. The food animal service model of the future will see a migration from the traditional service-on-demand model centered on individual animals towards a consultative type practice, wherein the herd becomes the economic unit. This change will be driven by changing producer demographics and economies of scale that will lead to far fewer, but much larger farm operations. The challenge for rural practitioners will be to create a value proposition for their producers.