Veterinary Services Grant Program | USDA NIFA VSGP 010340

Opportunity Information: Apply for USDA NIFA VSGP 010340

The Veterinary Services Grant Program (VSGP) is a competitive grant opportunity from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) aimed at reducing shortages of food animal veterinary services in the United States, including U.S. insular areas. The program is built around a practical goal: strengthen the pipeline of trained professionals and boost the capacity of private veterinary practices so rural communities in designated shortage areas have better access to veterinary care that supports livestock health, food safety, and public health. In plain terms, VSGP helps train more people for food animal practice, helps current professionals build specialized skills, and helps rural clinics obtain resources they need to serve shortage areas more effectively.

VSGP funds two broad types of work: education, extension, and training efforts on the workforce side, and practice enhancement on the service delivery side. Funded activities can include establishing or expanding accredited veterinary education pathways, such as internships, externships, residencies, and fellowships, as long as they are carried out in coordination with accredited colleges of veterinary medicine. It can also support continuing education and extension programming for veterinarians, veterinary technicians, and other relevant health professionals, including telemedicine and other distance-based training approaches, which is especially important for reaching rural audiences. The grant can cover travel and living expenses for veterinary students and trainees (including interns, externs, residents, and fellows) as well as veterinary technicians, which reduces the financial barriers to getting hands-on experience in high-need rural settings. Another allowed use is career exposure programming for high school juniors and seniors (grades 11 and 12) to introduce them to education and career opportunities in food animal medicine, helping build longer-term interest in rural and large animal practice.

Eligibility depends on which project track an applicant is pursuing. For education, extension, and training type projects (often referred to as EET), eligible applicants include state, regional, or national organizations that support food animal veterinary programs; allied or professional food animal veterinary organizations recognized by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA); AVMA-accredited colleges or schools of veterinary medicine; university research foundations or veterinary medical foundations; departments of veterinary science or comparative medicine that are accredited by the U.S. Department of Education; state agricultural experiment stations or research farms associated with 1890 institutions; and state, local, or tribal government agencies. For rural practice enhancement projects (RPE), eligibility is narrower and is geared toward on-the-ground service providers: a for-profit or non-profit clinic or hospital located in the U.S. or an insular area that provides mixed or large animal veterinary services in a rural area and is located within a current Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program (VMLRP) shortage area. RPE awards are made to clinics rather than individuals, meaning the clinic itself must apply even if it is a solo practice.

The shortage-area and rural requirements are a central part of the program design, especially for RPE applications. The shortage situation must qualify as rural under the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act definition. The solicitation notes that VMLRP Type II shortage situations are rural, while Type I shortage situations require an additional rural eligibility check using USDA Rural Development mapping tools (the Rural Community Development Initiative map). There is also a specific rule for clinics employing a current VMLRP awardee: a clinic may apply in connection with the single shortage area where that awardee is obligated to serve, but if the clinic receives a VSGP award under that approach, it must retain the VMLRP awardee for the full 36-month VSGP award period or risk forfeiting funds, with proration based on time served.

The competition also includes important limits on submissions and repeat awards. For RPE, duplicate or multiple submissions are not allowed; if an RPE applicant submits more than one application, NIFA will disqualify both. For EET, multiple submissions can come from different departments within an eligible institution, but only one award per institution per year will be made. If a clinic has previously received an RPE award, it may apply again only after five years following the end date of the prior award. For EET, an institution can hold multiple awards across different years, including awards led by different departments and different project directors.

Key opportunity details listed in the notice include an award ceiling of $250,000, an expectation of about 20 awards, and a closing date of March 21, 2024 (as posted for this specific funding cycle). The program is listed as discretionary funding and uses a grant instrument under the agriculture funding activity category (CFDA 10.336). As with most federal assistance programs, meeting all eligibility and application requirements by the deadline is critical; failing to meet the stated criteria can lead to an application being excluded from consideration or prevent an award from being made.

• The National Institute of Food and Agriculture in the agriculture sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Veterinary Services Grant Program" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 10.336.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-01-10.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-03-21. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $250,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 20 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

Apply for USDA NIFA VSGP 010340

[Watch] Creating a grant proposal using the step-by-step wizard inside the applicant portal: