Wisconsin lawmakers propose student loan relief bill to attract vets to rural areas

Wisconsin lawmakers have proposed a bipartisan bill that would offer recent veterinary graduates $25,000 in student loan repayment for each year that they practice in a rural county. Recipients would be eligible to receive the grant for up to 4 years.

If passed, state lawmakers hope the bill encourages new veterinarians to work with Wisconsin’s rural farms, according to a news report.¹ As part of the proposed legislation, applicants would be required to spend at least 25% of their time working with farm animals.

Students enrolled in an accredited school of veterinary medicine who are in their final year or those who graduated within the last 7 years would be eligible for the grant.² The high Educational Aids Board, which would award the grant, would not provide veterinarians or veterinary students with the $25,000 grant unless they completed the corresponding year of full-time employment as a veterinarian in a rural county. Additionally, the grant would not be taxed.²

The proposition comes as the US continues to face a shortage of veterinary professionals. According to data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the salary for veterinarians in Wisconsin rose from $99,860 in 2020 to $148,680 in 2022, marking nearly a 50% increase.³ Jo-ell Carson, the executive director of the Wisconsin Veterinary Medical Association said the increase in average veterinary wages was likely tied to the shortage of veterinarians, a report by the Wisconsin Public Radio noted.⁴

Working in a small, rural practice becomes less attractive when many veterinary graduates are faced with substantial debt post-graduation, supporters of the bill say.¹ A third-year veterinary student on the board of the Wisconsin Veterinary Medicine Association, Joie Haines, spoke at a public hearing on the bill November 13, stating that classmates at the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine have realized that they can earn more by practicing in corporate clinics in an urban area, working specifically with small animals.¹

“I have a couple classmates who have gotten offers of $30,000 or $40,000 for a sign-on [bonus],” Haines said.¹ “They’re like, ‘Why would you go to rural Wisconsin and be at a large animal practice and make less than $100,000 [per year]?’”

Haines was raised on a farm in Trempealeau County, according to Wisconsin Public Radio. Her family, who raised beef cattle, swine, and poultry, many times did not have access to veterinary care without traveling long distances.¹

In the same public hearing, Alan Martens, DVM, a practitioner at Waupun Veterinary Service, which serves farms across 9 counties in eastern Wisconsin, said the practice covers such a large area because most small, 1- or 2-veterinarian clinics have disappeared. According to Martens, many practices no longer offer emergency services, which create long wait times for animals needing critical care, leading to animal welfare concerns and farm economic losses.

Although both parties support the bill, the legislation has one caveat: it does not yet provide funding for the grants. Lawmakers would need to include money for the program in the next biennial state budget, which will be determined under a new governor and legislature. Securing funding for the grant would be challenging since the current state budget began in July, according to Representative Joel Kitchen, R-Sturgeon Bay.¹

References

1. Kirwan H. Bill to address farm veterinarian shortage would offer new grads loan repayment. Wisconsin Public Radio. November 14, 2025. Accessed November 14, 2025. https://www.wpr.org/news/bill-address-farm-veterinarian-shortage-offer-loan-repayment-new-grads
2. Wis. Legis. Assembly Bill 505, 2025–26 Leg., Reg. Sess. (Wis. 2025). Accessed November 14, 2025. https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/2025/related/proposals/ab505
3. Veterinarian salary: States where salaries have increased (and decreased) the most. TotalVet. Accessed November 14, 2025. https://total.vet/veterinarian-salary/
4. Kirwan H. Wisconsin veterinarians see 49 percent wage growth as clinics compete for limited number of doctors. Wisconsin Public Radio. June 16, 2023. Accessed November 14, 2025. https://www.wpr.org/agriculture/wisconsin-veterinarians-49-percent-wage-growth-shortages