ASU veterinary school opens new horizons
Our region has deep agricultural roots and is a national leader in agricultural production. According to the most recent USDA Census of Agriculture, Arkansas’s 1st Congressional District ranks among the top 5% of all 435 districts. Highlights include the top 1% for cotton, the top 2% for aquaculture, the top 3% for grains, beans and oilseeds (think soybeans), and the top 5% for poultry. I have always believed that the resilience and work ethic of our agricultural producers are the foundation of our regional character.
The opening of Arkansas State University’s new College of Veterinary Medicine in Jonesboro, which welcomes its first cohort this fall, marks a transformative moment for our state and region. As the state’s first public veterinary school, it will diversify our state and regional economy, strengthen our agricultural sector, and fill a longstanding gap in local animal care.
Arkansas has long been underserved in veterinary care, consistently ranking among the states with the fewest veterinarians per capita. According to the Arkansas Department of Health’s 2024 workforce report, nine Arkansas counties have no veterinarians, and nine have only one. As a result, residents and businesses have long traveled significant distances for veterinary services. In the past, when Arkansas students talked about studying veterinary medicine, they inevitably meant leaving the state, making it less likely they would return. That is no longer the case. For Northeast Arkansas, it positions us as the hub of the Mid-South’s animal health economy.
With its $33.2 million, 56,000-square-foot facility and, most importantly, its students, faculty and staff, the ASU veterinary school opens a wide array of commercial and consumer banking opportunities beyond traditional row-crop financing. Crop farmers remain central to our mission, but the emerging veterinary sector demands that financial institutions evolve alongside it. This growth requires proactive, relationship-based banking and early engagement with students, faculty and incoming professionals.
Supporting young veterinarians as they transition from students to practice owners across Craighead and neighboring counties is the most effective way to strengthen the regional economy. At Arvest, we are committed to tailored solutions for veterinarians and incentives to support recruitment and retention. Local banks can anchor these professionals here by offering targeted, tailored lending programs, including dedicated SBA loans, practice acquisition financing, and equipment loans for advanced medical imaging. There’s also a need for business banking and treasury management services, such as remote deposit capture, to support rural clinics, as well as concierge financial services for professionals.
Ultimately, ASU’s College of Veterinary Medicine marks the next chapter in our region’s economic development story and advances the goals of Jonesboro Unlimited’s Momentum Jonesboro campaigns. Alongside growth in our residential and retail sectors, the Arkansas State system’s continued progress, and the success of steel and other manufacturing, this development signals that Northeast Arkansas is an exceptional place to build a career and raise a family, and that skilled professionals who once might have had practical reasons to leave can now thrive here. By continuing to recruit students to ASU, cultivating local career pipelines, and partnering with programs such as ASU-Beebe’s veterinary technician track, the new school will reinforce Northeast Arkansas’s reputation as a destination for professional talent.
We are fortunate to have this momentum. As community-focused banks, we must do our part to make the most of it by providing flexible capital, innovative lending, and long-term relationships, as we have served our farm families for decades. By investing in the professionals, educators, and businesses supporting this new program, we are funding a more diverse, resilient future for all of Northeast Arkansas.
Editor’s note: Kevin Hufstedler is Community Bank President at Arvest Bank – Jonesboro. The opinions expressed are those of the author.