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BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — Illinois Farm Bureau continues to support the education of the next generation of veterinarians focusing on caring for food animals through the Illinois Veterinary and Training loan program.
Madison Andrae, a vet med student at the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine, was recently selected by the IVET Committee as a 2023 loan recipient.
Andrae will receive the IVET loan at the full amount of $40,000 with a $1,500 stipend to help pay expenses associated with clinical rotations.
Andrae grew up in Lynn Center, a village outside of Orion, located in Henry County. She has worked as a veterinary technician at the Orion Veterinary Clinic and plans to go back to the business as an assistant veterinarian upon graduation from the U of I.
Growing up, Andrae showed cattle and pigs in open shows and raised many animals on her family’s small hobby farm.
She attributes success, present and future, to “being able to read the animals and understand them.” In 10 years, she hopes to own and operate the hometown practice in Orion.
The IVET program provides up to $40,000 to as many as three veterinary students each year to help offset the cost of education.
Loans are provided for a period of two to three years, and students in their fourth year in school are eligible for a $1,500 stipend.
Loans are repaid over five years after graduation, during which graduates must commit to working in a food animal practice that services Illinois livestock producers.
“Illinois Farm Bureau encourages veterinary students to pursue a career in caring for food animals,” said Tasha Bunting, IFB associate director of commodity and livestock programs.
“To succeed, farmers need the services of a food animal veterinarian to help them care for their cattle, swine, sheep and poultry. It’s an incredibly rewarding career field that has seen an increase in demand in recent years.”
IFB established IVET in 2005. Since then, the organization has awarded more than $550,000 to 27 veterinary students who focus on caring for food animals in Illinois.
For more information about the program, visit www.ilfb.org/IVET.