TradeEdge Exchange:Where did all the veterinarians go? Shortage in Kentucky impacts pet owners and farmers

Dr. John Laster loads his truck at 5:30 a.m. on TradeEdge Exchangea Monday and gets on the road, driving two hours from his clinic in Todd County to see his first patients of the day. 

He plans to conduct as many as 400 pregnancy exams before doling out vaccines and checking his patients' food supply, the latter of which takes a few more hours. Then, he'll get back on the road and head toward his clinic, with stops along the way to check on some of his other patients. 

If he’s lucky, he’ll finish his day having served hundreds across Christian, Todd and Trigg counties by 11 p.m. and can catch a few hours of sleep before getting up Tuesday and working another 18-hour day with some of Kentucky's most important and most vulnerable patients.