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As a small livestock producer in a rural area, the discussions around the veterinary shortages ("Vet crisis is statewide, national — and urgent," Opinion Exchange, July 12) resonate deeply with me and my fellow producers. The shortage has important implications for food security, animal health and human health. It is also emotionally draining to watch your favorite animals suffer. And we are going in the wrong direction.

Per the recent discussions, there is a booming interest in veterinary school and an increasing need for these services. It appears to many of us that the veterinary schools and DVM requirements are the bottleneck. I applaud the efforts to create a more streamlined certification through the South Dakota State University/University of Minnesota partnership and VetFAST Programs, and we need more actions like this.

The reality, however, is that animal agriculture doesn't pay. The annual salary of my off-farm job is significantly higher than that of a newly minted veterinarian, and it came at a fraction of the price. Farm calls often cost more than the value of the animal you are trying to save. In addition, large animal vets are working around large animals in dangerous conditions at bizarre times of day. They deserve our gratitude and the ability to pay off their student loans. That is a tough sell as farmers themselves lose money in a system moving increasingly toward dairies with 10,000 cows and egg farms with 100,000 chickens.

It is easy to get discouraged as I hear of retirements in my area. As access to vets decreases and important medications go behind the counter, my arsenal of therapeutic tools will soon be reduced to Blu-Kote (a wound spray), vet wrap and a can of corn. Preventive strategies — good farm hygiene, robust vaccination programs and closed herds — will become of the utmost importance. When things get really tough and I am up alone in the middle of the night with a sick sheep, I remind myself that my industry has existed for thousands of years without advanced veterinary medicine, and it will continue to exist despite the current challenges.

Brittney Johnson, Underwood, Minn.

The writer is a sheep farmer.

A recent commentary describes the systemwide financial crisis in the Minnesota State system due to significant declines in enrollment. This financial crisis will worsen until college administrators stop trying to force "yesterday's plans to work in today's conditions" ("The way there? Stop living in the past," Opinion Exchange, July 11). We need to examine the way we operate and finance higher education today.

The latest 3.5% tuition increase for students on the Twin Cities campus of the University of Minnesota comes just after the Legislature approved over $1.5 billion in general appropriations to the university for the next two years.

The university administration will spend $4.5 billion during the coming fiscal year. How much will be spent on administration?

In its biennial report to the Legislature in January 2021, the university administration informed the Legislature that it was reviewing administrative and support functions and that "a new understanding and definition of 'administrative costs' may surface ... ." The administration made a pledge to review any change in the definition of "administrative costs" with the Office of Management and Budget and with the Office of Higher Education in its next report.

In its current report to the Legislature, the university administration uses a new definition of "administrative costs." The administration acknowledges it did not review this new definition with the Office of Management and Budget and with the Office of Higher Education for compliance with the statutory requirements for the report — despite its pledge to do so.

The Minnesota Daily reported in April that the total amount for costs of administration for fiscal year 2021 under the old definition was $1.5 billion. The total amount under the new definition for the same fiscal year is $433 million.

I requested a record from university administration under the Data Practices Act for the line-item expenses used to calculate the total costs of administration under the new definition (Public Records Request No. 23-176). The response was that the administration has no plans to create such a record.

Shifting definitions and money under the "new analysis" is an administrative sleight of hand that obscures the actual costs of administration. The students and parents and citizens of our state deserve transparency regarding those costs.

Michael W. McNabb, Lakeville

I read with frustration the July 13 article covering the protest of the implementation timeline for the state's new "earned" release program for prison inmates ("Wait for 'earned' release criticized," July 13). My frustration is not with the protesters; they are standing up for their loved ones, hoping this program will offer them a new chance at life. That is understandable and commendable.

My frustration is how the article treats the issue. By covering it as a protest the article creates the narrative that there is a "problem" and that someone — in this case the Department of Corrections — needs to solve. It puts DOC on the defensive, which is not fair.

Such a major change in law needs time to be properly implemented, as Commissioner Paul Schnell and the DOC explain in the article. The statute itself rarely provides the level of detail needed for implementation. There are likely hundreds of policy issues that need to be worked out, definitions and rules to develop, each with options that need to be weighed. Further, the law appropriately requires DOC to spend considerable effort engaging stakeholders and gathering input before implementation.

I spent 38 years in state government. It takes time to put new programs in place. In this case, that time is needed to ensure the new policy works correctly and fairly for inmates, while ensuring continued safety for the public. I also know from experience what happens when you rush implementation; rarely does the public benefit.

I hope the Star Tribune will continue to cover the rollout of this new policy, not as a fight, but as the consequential change in public policy that it represents.

Chuck Johnson, Bloomington

The writer is retired from the Department of Human Services.

I would say there was a missed opportunity to educate and share in a letter writer's response to a waitress who was excited by dragonfly sightings ("What a dragonfly means," Readers Write, July 12). He might have said she was seeing them everywhere because this is the mating season or because the weather is just right for an abundance of dragonflies — or some way to expand on knowledge without cutting off imagination. I remember in the 1970s the ever-more-frequent sightings of eagles. The answer to that was that DDT use had been curtailed and so the eagles were rebounding. The letter writer has a dragonfly tattoo visible, and that tattoo invited a friendly question; why not broaden the simple conversation with an informative reply?

Mary McKay, St. Paul

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That letter writer suggested that we need more scientists, more "cogent thinkers" who eschew mysticism and faith to lead the country "as we move into the future." I agree on the need for cogent thinkers, just as the founders of our nation were. They not only had the courage to declare independence from a foreign oppressor, but they formulated a blueprint for government and a monetary system that is still the envy of the world. Yet, amazingly, they were people of faith, with a staunch belief that we are not alone, that there is purpose for our lives, that their Creator ultimately provides and that life doesn't end at the grave. These cogent thinkers created a country where people, even today, still flock to our borders to have the freedoms we take for granted. We need more of those "cogent thinkers," not fewer.

Daniel Furry, Prior Lake

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Like the recent letter writer, I also have a dragonfly tattoo on my left bicep. Mine has my late wife's name embedded in the wing design. I nearly always experience dragonflies in nature as her making her presence felt to me. That doesn't make me woo-woo or superstitious. It makes me human, and it makes my life more rich, profound and, yes, meaningful.

Joel Boon, Shakopee