Director's Message
Greetings,
I hope this eNewsletter finds you healthy and doing well. This spring and summer have been beyond fast and furious. With COVID numbers declining for the season and some warm weather from mid-June to mid-July, crops, activities and projects have kept everyone extremely busy.
Throughout this season the AKAgrAbility program team has stayed busy following up with clients, hosting workshops, and seeking new collaborations. In other exciting news we have also been working to grow our team to better serve you! Currently we have a brand new position posted for an AgrAbility client specialist to assist clients and work on supporting program development and expansion. Check out the job posting here.
Two workshops included Scott Sanford, an emeritus distinguished outreach specialist for the Rural Energy Program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, who provided workshops in the Mat-Su Valley and Anchorage on “Produce Storage in Cellars or Trailers” and “Greenhouse Heat: Extending the Season,” both timely topics as we head into the fall months. He authored a publication “On Farm Cold Storage of Fall-Harvested Fruit and Vegetable Crops.”
It is hard to believe that we are fast approaching the second annual Alaska Farm Bureau Convention & Trade Show in collaboration with the Western SARE Conference in Anchorage at the Egan Center, Nov. 11-13. Mark your calendars! This is shaping up to be the premier statewide ag networking event of the year.
Many agencies are onboard to attend and sponsor this event, including AKAgrAbility. By the time this convention arrives, the governor’s Food Security and Independence Task Force recommendations, https://bit.ly/FoodTaskForce, should be made public.
It is my hope that you will consider participating in this event as a wide variety of agricultural information will be shared. Sign up for updates and information here: https://bit.ly/AgricultureConvention.
For those who may not have heard of the Alaska AgrAbility program, it is managed by the University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service and is funded nationally through the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The purpose of the program is to help bring awareness, education, technical onsite assessments and resources to help Alaskans working in an agricultural industry who may have a barrier that limits their independence. This could be due to a disability, injury or through the aging process.
Extension partners with Assistive Technology of Alaska (ATLA) to help determine assistive technology that may be needed to carry out day-to-day activities necessary for employment or quality of life. No matter what the reason for the impairment, the program works to connect clients through a holistic approach. Feel free to contact me if you have questions or would like more information about becoming an AKAgrAbility client at [email protected] or 907-786-6330.
On behalf of our team, we look forward to working with you!
Stay well,
DeShana York, AgrAbility Director
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Tools with a new twist
In AgrAbility we often see examples and pictures of adaptations and modifications with “tools” to help with field work, animal processing and harvesting. Steps that help a farmer with bad knees get onto their tractor; workstation stanchions to direct animals in stalls; wheelchair lifts to assist getting onto large machinery; pickup boom arms added to change tires out in the field from a sitting position; etc., are often what we talk about and see as solutions for growers with disabilities.
Yet what about the person who wants to simply be able to get into a large garden plot or work a flower box outside of their kitchen window in a better way as arthritis creeps in or wrists don’t turn as they used to? Often the issues here are more about ergonomics than metal fabrication or redesign of an area. Getting the “right fit” to get five rows done in the garden might mean employing bending metal edges on a hand tool, but this isn’t getting out a cutting torch or using a hydraulic bender to reef on a piece of 10 gauge cold steel.
And in fact, beyond getting out a coping saw to cut a foot off a wooden hoe handle or tweaking the loop handle on a trowel, it might be that modified tools can be found on the market where handles that used to be vertical are horizontal or have easier to grasp rubber stub ends replacing tapered wooden round ends.
One of the niftier of the shelf devices I’ve seen is a hooped, rubber-coated/plastic handle that you attach halfway down, perpendicular to your normal straight wooden rake handle; the user’s arm can simply reach out straight and grab rather than turn at the wrist. These add-ons are generally easy to install (easier than the hour-long assembly of your kid’s Christmas bicycle.)
To get an idea of what small hand tools you can get with different angles, handles and tips than the ones at the hardware or building supply stores, take a look at The Toolbox at http://www.agrability.org/toolbox/. It is very helpful to get an idea of what has been invented, commercialized or tested. You may not find a product to go out and get, but just may think of an adaptation you can do at home for your shovel from the ideas at hand!
Art Nash
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The Illingworth family. Photo by Elizabeth Beks — Frozen Lens photography |
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Client Spotlight: Ron and Marji Illingworth of North Pole Peonies |
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Like many Alaskans, Ron and Marjorie (Marji) Illingworth came north with the Air Force, and then decided not to leave.
They bought land on Eielson Farm Road, south of North Pole, and began growing vegetables in 1997. In the early 2000s, they became interested in growing peonies commercially, in part, Marji said, because she was tired of squatting down to pick green beans.
North Pole Peonies was one of the first commercial peony farms in Alaska. Today they have about 12,000 peony plants, although they continue to grow some vegetables.
It was a late lifestyle change for the Illingworths, both of whom had already had distinguished careers. Ron, 80, spent 20 years in the Air Force. His last assignment was in Alaska, and the family decided to stay as one of their four children was a senior in high school at the time. He began teaching at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and ultimately spent 25 years working in rural development and other programs and retired as an English professor emeritus.
Marji, 79, also worked at UAF for 20 years, retiring as an associate professor emeritus of developmental education, early childhood and family relations.
Retirement didn’t mean slowing down. However, agriculture is physically demanding, and the Illingworths turned to the Alaska AgrAbility program for assistance.
“We’ve got both indoor and outdoor types of assistance. I’ll put it like that,” Marji said. “The indoor is stuff that makes it easier to do things in the house so that we can devote more time during the day, specifically during the harvest season, to be outdoors working. That is a ‘from 4 o’clock in the morning until midnight-type job’ during harvest.”
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Agency Spotlight: Locally Grown, Locally Loved |
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Alaska Farmers Market Association (AFMA) has updated its website. To help get everyone involved with an awareness week, AFMA has put together resources that can be shared online or in-person. The image shown to the right is just one of many that they have created. You can find more images to share here.
Since 2006, the number of farmers markets in Alaska has more than tripled: from 13 to 41 in 2017. In 2021, AFMA counted 56, with more planned. It’s clear that Alaskans value their local farmers markets and show their support every year. Many markets will be closing up shop soon in preparation for winter, but for Anchorage residents, know that the Center Market located in the Midtown Mall runs year round on Wednesdays and Fridays from 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
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Technology Corner: Jab Planter |
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This hand seeder is designed for quick planting of many rows of larger seeds (corn, beans, peas, sunflower). However, it is not designed for small seeds. It works by simply pressing it into the soil. It will automatically drop the number of seeds you selected (1 or 2) at the depth you selected (1.5" to 3" deep). You can also side-dress or deposit granular fertilizer (0.10 to 3 teaspoons) down into the soil 3 inches away from your seeds.
The best part of the Jab Planter is you can plant a large plot of seeds all while standing, so no need to stay bent over for hours while planting. Just push the spring-loaded tips into the loose soil. Seeds and fertilizer are deposited automatically each time.
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Upcoming Events & Opportunities
Aug. 18: “Vision Solutions for Farmers”
Presenters: Kyle Haney – Georgia AgrAbility and Ned Stoller – Michigan AgrAbility
Application deadline Aug. 31
Sealed bids open now through Oct. 4, 2022, at 4:30 p.m.
Nov. 11-13
Egan Center, Anchorage, Alaska
Nov. 13-15
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
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Stay Up-to-Date with AKAgrAbility! |
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UAF Cooperative Extension Service (UAF-CES) offices in Anchorage are open
9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday for phone, email, and appointments.
Assistive Technology of Alaska (ATLA) offices are open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Monday through Thursday.
Contact DeShana York, AKAgrAbilty Director,
Assistive Technology of Alaska | 1500 W 33rd Ave., Ste 120, Anchorage, AK 99503
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