Large Animal Grants program accepting applications

Large animal veterinarians in North Carolina are eligible to apply for up to $25,000 in funds to help support their large animal practice. 

The funding opportunity is available to veterinarians who practice in one of the 70 North Carolina counties with a population of 100,000 or fewer and that spend 30% or more of their patient care involved in large animal veterinary care. 

“Since the Large Animal Fund was established, we have awarded funds to 16 different veterinarians from across the state totaling over $250,000,” said Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler. “These vets cover 63 different counties across the state, assisting with many different species of animals.”
 
These funds can be used for repayment of educational loans related to the recipient’s veterinary degree, to purchase equipment or technology for use in their practice or any additional uses the advisory committee determines is appropriate to promote and develop large animal veterinarians to practice in the designated counties.

“The field of large animal medicine is in dire need of assistance due to many reasons such as the high student loan debt, slim profit margins and equipment costs,” said Troxler. “This has deterred many promising vet students from going into the specialized field of large animal medicine. While we are doing all we can with the current funds available, I want to stress the importance of growth and development of this fund. Partnerships with agriculture industry leaders will be crucial in the expansion of this program. With increased support from these partnerships, we will be able to assist more vets from across the state and further support the large animal industry.”

The application deadline is Jan. 31, 2026. Applications are available online at   https://fs4.formsite.com/QopHZM/eri6jiyqie/index. More information on the grant program can be found in frequently asked questions or by emailing largeanimalvetgrants@ncagr.gov. 

The Large Animal Health Enhancement Advisory Committee will make the determination on grant dispersal based on eligible applications. This committee includes the N.C. Commissioner of Agriculture; the State Veterinarian of North Carolina; the Executive Director of the North Carolina Agricultural Finance Authority; one designee from the Food Animal Scholars Program, North Carolina State University, College of Veterinary Medicine; two practicing large animal veterinarians; two representatives of the livestock industry; one designee by the Commissioner of Agriculture of North Carolina; and one designee by the State Veterinarian of North Carolina.

                                                                              -30-