TSCRA leader testifies before Texas Senate committee  in Austin about veterinarian shortage

TSCRA Director Coleman Locke, Hungerford, testified Monday before the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Water and Rural Affairs in Austin. In his testimony, on behalf of TSCRA, he addressed a current shortage of large animal veterinarians to serve rural Texas. He conveyed a number of facts, including that Texas is tied for last in the country in the number of animals per veterinarian, and the situation is likely to worsen, because 46 percent of rural veterinarians are over the age of 60. Locke closed by strongly asserting the need for state legislature and Texas public universities to make a priority of addressing this growing shortage of food animal veterinary practitioners.
Locke is a partner and manager of the Locke Division of J.D. Hudgins Ranch and president of J.D. Hudgins, Inc. Besides serving on the Executive Committee for TSCRA, he is also a lifetime committeeman of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo and past director of the Federation of State Beef Councils. Additionally, he is past president and lifetime director of the American Brahman Breeders Association and Texas Brahman Association and past chairman of the Texas Beef Council and the Beef Promotion and Research Council of Texas. Locke received a Bachelor of Science in Marketing from Abilene Christian University.
Gov. Greg Abbott named Coleman Locke presiding officer of the Texas Animal Health Commission in 2016 and reappointed him to commission for a term set to expire Sept. 6, 2021. The commission works to protect and enhance the health of animal populations across the state.