Each year the department of health and human services, in consultation with the state board of animal health, shall select qualified applicants to participate in a loan repayment program, as provided for in this chapter. Each applicant must be a veterinarian and must agree to provide food animal veterinary medicine services to communities in this state. The selected applicants are eligible to receive up to eighty thousand dollars in loan repayment funds. The number of applicants that the department of health and human services may select for participation in the loan repayment program is limited only by the moneys available to support the program, as provided for in this chapter.