Non Technical Summary
Southwest Virginia is without veterinarians that are willing to provide much needed veterinary care to the producers of cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, and chickens. This causes producers in this area the inability to receive vital veterinary care for their herds and pets. The lack of veterinarians in the shortage area also affects the food supply to consumers. Lack of veterinary care decreases the ability to monitor disease which is then passed into the food chain which negatively impacts the community. Unhealthy herds due to lack of veterinary care causes a decrease in the amount of food available for consumption by the community. This project helps to fulfill the vital need of veterinary care to food animals in Southwest Virginia. This project allows Harrison Animal Hospital, located in Weber City, Virginia, to provide necessary food animal veterinary care by investing in a truck and veterinary box (vet truck) to reach the producer along with the necessary medications to care for the animals. Many producers do not own a truck and trailer so they cannot get the animal to the veterinary hospital. This project will provide the dependable transportation necessary to preform farm visits to producers which is vital to ensure the animal receives proper care in a timely manner. The additional passenger space in the vet truck will also allow the ability to mentor students allowing them to go on farm visits to learn about veterinary medicine. Students today are tomorrow's future so mentoring students is vital to stimulate interest in a career in veterinary medicine so they can one day serve as a veterinarian in the shortage area. The purchase of a portable ultrasound and microscope will allow the opportunity to offer important services to producers such as pregnancy detection in food animals. The equipment will also increase income for the practice allowing growth to serve more producers. The project will provide a veterinary assistant which will increase the practice efficiency. Overall, this project will positively impact the practice by providing the necessary equipment and labor needed to provide veterinary services to the shortage area and reduce the number of farms that would go out of business due to the lack of agriculture support services. This project will positively impact the Southwest Virginia community for years to come.

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
311	3299	1060	10%
301	3310	1060	40%
313	3820	1060	20%
311	3510	1060	10%
807	3610	1060	20%

Knowledge Area
807 - Disaster Preparedness, Mitigation, Response, and Recovery; 311 - Animal Diseases; 313 - Internal Parasites in Animals; 301 - Reproductive Performance of Animals;

Subject Of Investigation
3610 - Sheep, live animal; 3299 - Poultry, general/other; 3310 - Beef cattle, live animal; 3510 - Swine, live animal; 3820 - Goats, meat, and mohair;

Field Of Science
1060 - Biology (whole systems);

Goals / Objectives
Major goals of the project are as follows:Provide necessary food animal veterinary services to drastically underserved producers in Southwest Virginia and reduce the number of farms that would go out of business due to a lack of agriculture support services.Objectives:1. Invest in a dependable truck and portable veterinary box (vet truck) to get to and from producers' farms efficiently while maintaining medications at accurate temperatures.2. Provide student mentorship opportunities by maximizing the passenger space available in the new vet truck allowing students the opportunity to experience as well as stimulate an interest in pursuing a career in veterinary medicine.3. Employee a veterinary assistant living in the shortage area to resume clerical duties to be more efficient and allow more time to reach producers.4. Purchase a portable ultrasound as well as a microscope and offer vital services to producers.

Project Methods
The project will be conducted by investing in a truck and veterinary box (vet truck), portable ultrasound, and microscope. The truck will provide dependable transportation to reach producers to ensure animals receive treatment needed in a timely manner. The additional passenger space in the vet truck will allow room to transport high school, undergraduate, and veterinary students. This will allow the students the opportunity to receive firsthand learning in the field which will improve their skills and build their confidence to further their interest in veterinary medicine. The portable veterinary box will provide an efficient way to transport medical supplies and regulate temperature of medications. The addition of a portable ultrasound and microscope will allow the opportunity to offer vital services which will improve herd health, increase producers' profits, as well as increase revenue for the veterinary practice. The opportunity to employee a veterinary assistant from the shortage area will help generate income back into the community as well as improve time efficiency to accomplish more goals and reach more producers. The addition of a veterinary assistant will increase efficiency by utilizing their skills in handling animals as well as during surgery and treatment. Investment will also be made into continuing education opportunities for the veterinarian and veterinary assistant to ensure knowledge of the latest and best methods to improve herd health and keep the food chain safe for the community. The veterinary hospital software will be used to evaluate the project. The software is a cloud-based system that tracts appointments, inventory, and produces service reports. The service reports will provide the quantity and profit generated by the addition of the portable ultrasound, microscope, and truck and veterinary box. The software will be utilized to measure the project's success and the impact on the veterinary hospital.