[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 182 (Thursday, September 21, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65152-65153]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-20463]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

National Institute of Food and Agriculture


Notice of Stakeholder Listening Session Regarding Administration 
of the Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program and Veterinary 
Services Grant Program

AGENCY: National Institute of Food and Agriculture, USDA.

ACTION:  Notice of Stakeholder Listening Session.

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SUMMARY: USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) 
announces its stakeholder listening initiative, ``NIFA Listens 
Regarding Administration of the Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment 
Program (VMLRP) and the Veterinary Services Grant Program (VSGP).'' The 
objectives of the programs are to help veterinarians offset educational 
debt in return for food animal veterinary services, to ensure food 
animal veterinary services are available in priority shortage situation 
areas, and to support training of veterinary students, interns, and 
residents. As part of the stakeholder input process, NIFA is conducting 
a public meeting to solicit comments regarding the administration of 
the programs and the processes developed and implemented since the 
conclusion of the first application and award cycle (September 2010 for 
the VMLRP and September 2016 for the VSGP). Input collected will be 
used to evaluate and improve processes for shortage situation 
nominations, shortage area designations and allocations, full-time 
equivalent requirements, notice of funding opportunities, application 
processing, processes for matching shortage areas with applicants, and 
award requirements.

DATES: 
    Online Input: Submission of online stakeholder input will be open 
upon publishing of this Notice through 5 p.m. EST February 7, 2024. To 
submit online, email [email protected] and include your name, 
organization, contact information, and your input in plain text in the 
body of the email.
    Virtual Listening Session: The virtual listening session will be 
held on January 24, 2024 beginning at 11 a.m. EST and

[[Page 65153]]

is scheduled to end no later than 3 p.m. EST. The session will include 
a presentation of the goals and background information of the 
Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program (VMLRP) and Veterinary 
Services Grant Program (VSGP), followed by comments from stakeholders. 
Each speaker who wishes to comment will virtually raise their hand and 
be placed into a queue in the order in which their hand was raised. 
When selected to speak, each speaker will be allowed 10 minutes to 
provide verbal comments.
    If you need a reasonable accommodation to register for or 
participate in this event, please contact Alan Robinson, Acting 
Director of Equal Opportunity Staff, at [email protected], or 202-
573-1514 no later than January 10, 2024.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Marline Azevedo, VMLRP Program 
Coordinator, [email protected], 816-401-7790.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This listening effort will allow 
stakeholders to provide feedback on the following questions:
     What is your top priority for the VMLRP and/or VSGP in the 
next decade?
     What are the greatest challenges that you see facing food 
animal veterinary practice, with respect to the VMLRP and VSGP, in the 
coming decade?
     What improvements or enhancements would you make to VMLRP 
and VSGP?
     What are the most promising opportunities/solutions for 
food animal veterinary practice, with respect to the VMLRP and VSGP, in 
the coming decade?
    NIFA welcomes stakeholder input from any group or individual 
interested in food animal veterinary services in the U.S., including 
but not limited to governmental agencies, academic institutions, State 
Animal Health Officials, applicants, current or former awardees, 
current or former food animal veterinary practitioners, producers, and 
any other interested parties.
    NIFA is eager to obtain stakeholder comments on the current 
challenges and needed breakthroughs as well as the priorities, 
solutions, and opportunities that will facilitate long-term sustainable 
services in food animal veterinary medicine.
    Implementation Plans: All input will become a part of the official 
record and available on the NIFA website, https://www.nifa.usda.gov/. 
Stakeholder input received from the two mechanisms is treated equally. 
The challenges, needed breakthroughs, and priorities identified by this 
effort will be evaluated in conjunction with input from NIFA staff. 
This information will be critical for NIFA's evaluation and 
improvements of existing VMLRP and VSGP operations.

    Done at Washington, DC.
Drenda Williams,
Associate Director for Operations, National Institute of Food and 
Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture.
[FR Doc. 2023-20463 Filed 9-20-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-22-P