Oklahoma State University announced on 8 September the location of a new veterinary teaching hospital in Stillwater, part of a broader investment intended to expand veterinary education in a state where rural communities and livestock producers struggle to find a vet.

The 275,000-square-foot hospital will be built on part of the university's Agronomy Research Station north of State Highway 51, about half a mile west of Western Road. The existing hospital was designed for classes of no more than 70 students and now serves classes of more than 100; the new one is meant to add capacity for enrolment, clinical training and patient care.

More than 80 per cent of Oklahoma counties report veterinary shortages, according to OSU, and the US Department of Agriculture has designated several regions of the state — north-central, north-eastern, south-eastern, south-western and western Oklahoma — as high-priority shortage areas for fiscal 2026, many of them specifically for veterinarians serving beef cattle, swine, sheep and other food animals. For cattle producers, vets are needed not only for routine care but for disease surveillance, biosecurity and protection of the food supply.

The university has been steering its programme at that gap. Its Center for Rural Veterinary Medicine trains students for rural practice, the Oklahoma Rural Veterinary Scholarship and Loan Forgiveness Program offers up to US$25,000 a year for up to four years in return for a commitment to practise in rural Oklahoma, 14 students received rural veterinary scholarships earlier this year, and ambulatory services take students and vets directly onto farms.

"Our mission is to provide state-of-the-art veterinary care for every patient, from companion animals to livestock," said Dr Richard Prather, dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine. Plans include CT and MRI imaging, radiography, ultrasound, a linear accelerator for cancer treatment and expanded large-animal facilities.

The state appropriated US$250 million towards construction in 2025; total building costs are estimated at US$330 million, with private funding expected to support additional programme elements. The hospital is being developed alongside a new Agronomy Discovery Center for wheat breeding, crop science, soil fertility, forage and turfgrass research, for which the Legislature provided US$40 million to relocate and modernise facilities. Both projects are in the design phase. "Together, these projects demonstrate OSU's commitment to Oklahoma while positioning the university as a national destination for talent and leadership in agriculture and animal health," said OSU President Jim Hess.

Photo: Oklahoma State University, via AGDAILY

Source: AGDAILY