It will be another five years before officials can say if the veterinarian bonding scheme has succeeded or failed in addressing the problem of getting vets to work in rural areas.
New Zealand Veterinary Association president Richard Wild said 18 graduates had this year been placed with rural practices that met the criteria of working predominantly with production animals, which left room for a further 12.
In its second year, the Government scheme has been modified slightly from being geographically driven to one based on the need to fill a vacancy in a practice that derived most of its business from animal production work.
Graduate vets are bonded to a qualifying veterinary practice for three to five years, during which they receive an extra $11,000 a year over and above their salary.
Early last year, the sector was drastically short of vets, but that pressure eased when the world slipped into recession.
However, shortage issues had returned, Mr Wild said.
He could not say how many vets the industry was lacking, but a recent survey found the regions struggling to find them were Southland, the West Coast, the East Cape and Wairoa.
The goal of the scheme was to do more than just fill vacancies.
"It's not about people going to the bush; it's about retaining them so they stay for the long term."
Mr Wild was in Dunedin recently at the start of a nationwide tour in conjunction with Massey University to meet vets and discuss the future of the industry and whether the current courses will meet the rural sector's needs in 10 years' time.
The general view was that farms would become more integrated, there would be more corporate farming, more e-commerce and a greater use of veterinary technicians performing functions such as scanning.
Vets would also be expected to add value to a farming business, a move Mr Wild supported as it transformed the role of vets from one that was reactive into a proactive one.
He wanted a situation in which farmers and vets worked together to create an annual animal health plan, a move he said should reduce veterinary costs and add value to a farming business.
The shortage of rural vets was a worldwide issue.
In the United States fewer than 10% of the 86,000 practicing vets worked on production animals, while in New Zealand 40 vets a year were registering to work in the United Kingdom alone.
Each year, 100 vets graduate from Massey University, with 20 of those overseas students.
Typically, vets worked for a couple of years then travelled, and the problem was that when they returned, many had lost the confidence or desire to work with production animals, Mr Wild said.
The veterinary association and Massey University were watching closely a trial at Charles Sturt University, in New South Wales, in which veterinary students were chosen on attributes in addition to academic ability to find more potential rural vets.
The criteria included demonstrating a commitment to the rural sector.
Another trend was the dominance of female vets.
Up to 80% of new veterinary graduates were women, a far cry from the 15% to 20% when Mr Wild graduated.
But the profession was not about brawn but brains, and gender was not an issue, he said.