Zoetis Highlights Rural Veterinary Shortage in Documentary Season 3

Zoetis Spotlights Solutions for Rural Large-Animal Veterinary Shortages in New ‘Born of the Bond’ Season

LIVINGSTON, Montana — Global animal health leader Zoetis Inc. premiered the third season of its documentary series, Born of the Bond: Answering the Call, directing industry attention toward the shortage of rural production-animal veterinarians across North America.

Following previous seasons focused on the human-animal bond, Season 3 addresses operational challenges confronting livestock producers, feedlots, and mixed-animal veterinary practices.

Focus on the Frontlines: Stillwater Veterinary Clinic

The premiere episode spotlights Stillwater Veterinary Clinic in Absarokee, Montana. The narrative examines how independent mixed-animal practices adapt business models, manage on-call demands, and integrate young associate veterinarians into rural caseloads.

The premiere event in Livingston, Montana, brought together ranchers, veterinary students, and academic leaders to discuss key retention factors:

• Targeted Recruitment: Engaging veterinary students with rural or agricultural backgrounds early in their academic tracks.

• Debt Relief Mechanisms: Navigating federal and state student loan-repayment programs tailored for food-animal practices.

• Structured Mentorship: Providing clinical and business support to reduce early-career burnout among new associates.

• Shared On-Call Schedules: Re-engineering emergency coverage models across regional clinics to ensure sustainable work-life balance.

Contextualizing the Food-Animal Veterinary Gap

Federal data underscores the scope of the workforce challenge. In 2025, more than 500 U.S. counties across 46 states were designated by the USDA as experiencing critical large-animal veterinary shortages.

Veterinary shortages directly impact animal health surveillance, biosecurity protocols, herd productivity, and food supply security.

“When producers don’t have reliable access to veterinary care, it’s not just the health of their animals at stake; it’s their ability to run a viable operation and keep a safe, quality food supply flowing to consumers.”

— Mike Lormore, DVM, MS, MBA, Director of Cattle and Pork Technical Services at Zoetis

Industry Engagement Strategy

The release serves as an industry awareness and workforce engagement platform. The documentary initiative does not establish new capital funds or allocate fresh scholarship grants; cumulative educational contributions referenced in corporate materials reflect existing corporate social responsibility commitments.

Analyst Takeaway

Zoetis’ focus on workforce sustainability reflects an effort to safeguard the production-animal veterinary channel. As commercial cattle and swine operations scale up, maintaining access to licensed veterinary oversight remains essential for disease prevention, prescription compliance, and overall market stability in animal agriculture.