Dr. Bom Harris (right), owner of Old Dominion Veterinary Services, works with an assistant on a farm in Maidens. (Photo by Ash Daniel)
Agriculture is an essential part of Virginia’s economy but, as with other industries in the commonwealth, it has undergone massive changes in recent decades. Small family farms have vanished in favor of industrial sites, and many careers that depend on them have waned, like that of the farm veterinarian.
Exhausting and unpredictable, this medical specialty has become unappealing to many veterinarians, who often prefer the consistency of companion animal practices. A 2023 report by the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future found that livestock veterinarians have decreased by 90% since World War II. Today, only about 5% of veterinarians specialize in this field.
“Without trained and knowledgeable livestock vets with boots on the ground in the community, [the inability] to catch to catch things can quickly spiral out of control,” says Dr. Bom Harris, who owns Old Dominion Veterinary Services, a Hanover County-based mobile farm animal practice. “It’s important that smaller operations have relationships with farm vets so problems can be addressed.”
It’s not just commercial settings that require visits from farm veterinarians. The ever-growing interest in backyard pet livestock, which includes chickens and goats, also calls for their expertise.
Parasites and transmittable illnesses, such as avian influenza, can spread from flocks and herds to humans. This has the potential to cause not only grave health crises but also major disruptions to the food supply, and farm veterinarians work to prevent the growth of such diseases.
For almost a decade, Harris has been offering her services to over 25 counties in eastern and Central Virginia. Venturing through the heavily agricultural region in her heavy-duty pickup truck, Harris performs vaccinations and nutrition evaluations on pigs, alpacas and other animals, although her main patients are bovines.
Originally from Birmingham, Alabama, Harris attended the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine. She was first interested in caring for small animals but later found a passion for farm veterinary work. “I fell in love with agricultural animals and never looked back,” she says. After graduating in 2008, Harris worked for a regional practice before starting her own in 2016.
“I love the relationship [I have] with farmers to help them keep animals healthy and farms as productive as possible while having an impact on food safety and public health,” she says.
Harris teaches Virginia State University agriculture students about dairy calf nutrition and biosecurity. (Photo courtesy Bom Harris)
However, erratic hours, low wages and expensive schooling can dissuade new vets from servicing farms. The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services doesn’t officially track the number of large-animal veterinarians, but there has been a noticeable decline. In 2024, the General Assembly established a working group to propose solutions to the shortage, such as debt repayment programs and business loans. Additionally, a new state law allows trainees applying for licensure to perform veterinary medicine under the direct supervision of a licensed veterinarian.
Loans and grants, like the federal Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program, are designed to financially assist farm animal veterinarians in exchange for work in shortage zones. For example, one zone nominated in 2024 by VDACS requires the grant recipient to work in Louisa, Fluvanna or Goochland counties and notes that there are “two known veterinarians providing livestock and poultry service in these counties, and it is critically important to retain them there in providing service to livestock, as without VMLRP, they may focus on small animal practice.”
The strenuous job requires an abundance of energy, and days are often filled with funky smells, long drives and grumpy animals. “Working out in all weather and with animals bigger and stronger than you wears on you,” Harris says.
In addition, farm veterinarians must prepare for sudden agricultural shifts. Harris originally set out to help the local dairy industry, but as these businesses began to disappear over the years, she had to readjust the focus of her practice.
Despite the challenges, Harris says farm veterinary work is well worth it and intriguing in the way it uniquely helps people.
Harris is involved with community 4-H programs and often meets aspiring veterinarians, especially younger kids with strong ambitions of helping animals. But there’s a stark difference between the fantastical dreams of a kindergartner and the reality of farm veterinary work.
“I think what I find lacking in older kids is a kind of awareness of the pathway to becoming a veterinarian,” Harris says. “There’s interest, but no idea [of the need to get] a four-year degree, apply to vet school and what that entails [and] the rigors of the academic process.”
