August 2022
A monthly update for AgrAbility projects and friends of AgrAbility
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The calls for presentations and posters for the 2023 NTW, with due dates of November 1, have been sent out to everyone on the staff listserv and have started going out to other contacts. NAP staff are also posting other NTW information on www.agrability.org. More
AgrAbility/ North Central Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Center webinar: "Convivencia y conversación: Tools for reducing stress and fostering emotional well-being among Latino farmworkers," Monday, August 29, 3:00 p.m. More
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The AgrAbility Virtual State Fair returns in October! This annual social media event features a different SRAP each day and has proven to be a successful method of public awareness to a mass audience. Look for upcoming details. |
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Join us in Reno at the Silver Legacy Resort November 29th - December 1st for a regional workshop. Sessions will be focused on worksite assessment, AT, mental health and wellness, and small group discussions. There will also be tours of some local Nevada agriculture. More information and registration should be coming later this month.
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Osteoarthritis Action Alliance (OAAA), managed through the Thurston Arthritis Research Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, will again be a parter on the National AgrAbility Project for this grant year. Read more about that organization and how they can help agricultural workers with arthritis. More
Join OAAA for the August monthly Zoom discussion “Understanding Osteoarthritis & Agriculture Resources,” Thursday, August 25 at 3:00 p.m. EDT. Email details coming soon.
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A Skid-Steer Vinyl Cab Enclosure is designed to protect from harsh working environment and the elements (e.g., cold, snow, wind, dust), which is especially important for persons with low energy, body temperature management issues, and/or arthritis. Features of this after-market product include: full 360-degree visibility, all-weather safety door, push-out rear window, reportedly simple attach/detach, and heavy-duty material used.
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California AgrAbility staff conducted outreach to migrant workers in the California Delta near the Sacramento River. Every year during July, workers migrate to the area for pear harvesting. More
California AgrAbility staff joined the RISE Collaborative Meeting as it returned to its in-person gatherings. Staff joined the meeting to promote a series of upcoming gardening and wellbeing community events in Yolo County. More
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The California Department of Food and Agriculture, UC Davis California AgrAbility, CSU Fresno, and the CalHOPE campaign are teamed up to offer the second of three virtual sessions on "Farmer and Farmworker Mental Health and Stress." More
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The Colorado AgrAbility Project was recently awarded a grant from the Colorado Department of Agriculture (CDA) aimed at supporting the psychosocial wellbeing of Colorado's agricultural workers. More
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Mr. Harvey Cundiff is a 79-year-old rancher who lives with his wife Linda in Bayview, Colorado. Mr. Cundiff, a lifelong rancher in the area, has been experiencing the effects of aging more noticeably over the past few years. Harvey is one of 11 individuals who have been or will be the recipient of funds from this CDA grant to the AgrAbility Project with emphasis on behavioral health. More
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Over the next three years, Indiana AgrAbility will be partnering with The Nature Conservancy in its efforts to protect wetland habitats in the Lower Wabash River Basin (southwest Indiana and southeast Illinois) and conduct outreach to historically underserved communities in Indiana. More
Indiana AgrAbility is requesting that farmer veterans take a food safety survey developed by researchers at Purdue University. Answers will help develop on-farm food safety educational materials specially catered to help farmers. More
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Security and monitoring systems are ever changing. They have become very versatile, thus allowing an agricultural worker to be very creative in how they access it. Kansas AgrAbility staff Cassie Ramon and Karin Rasmussen presented "Taking Care of all Generations on the Farm" for the National AgrAbility Encore Webinar on July 7th. More
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Maine AgrAbility's Boots-2-Bushels continued with its monthly in-person workshops. In July, the group met at Rustic Roots Farm in Farmington to learn about the best tools for successful small-scale farming. These farm tours are also open to new Maine farmers participating in the Maine New Farmers project supported by the USDA.
July's FishAbility blog post " Let's Do the Twist" focused on dynamic stretching to help Maine's fishermen prevent injury and manage aches and pains. |
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The Logger's Voice, summer 2022 issue,featured an article by Maine AgrAbility staff, "Reducing Slips, Trips, and Falls in the Logging Industry" that emphasizes reasonable precautions to avoid and eliminate potential hazards. More
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Missouri AgrAbility focused its social media efforts on providing information about staying safe in hot weather and promoting events its client farmers would be interested in, such as urban agriculture, .... More
Karen Funkenbusch and Brianna Wittenborn from MU Extension were busy this month creating new print resources related to AgrAbility, rural disability, agricultural safety, behavioral health, chronic disease, .... More
Brianna Wittenborn, Karen Funkenbusch, and Tevin Uthlaut from MU Extension updated the "Show-Me Farm Safety" partnership video clips to include closed captioning for rural and urban agricultural ATV safety, .... More
Lincoln University ISFOP team members attended the Small Business Association and USDA outreach training on July 21st "The Business of Farming and Ranching for Beginning Farmers and Ranchers".
Missouri AgrAbility paraprofessional staff member Brianna Wittenborn created a new brochure featuring Missouri AgrAbility clients and services available through the Brain Injury Association of Missouri (BIA-MO). More
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Aaron Yoder attended the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) Annual International Meeting in Houston, Texas, from July 17-20. More
The Nebraska AgrAbility team recently met in-person to plan and coordinate efforts ahead of a very busy time of year for programming and events. More
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Julianne LaJeunesse, AT specialist with the New Mexico Assistive Technology Program, offered a public awareness event about NM AgrAbility at the North Valley Farmer's Market on July 13. She trained occupational therapy fieldwork II students at the event. |
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Sonja Koukel, project director, presented an introduction to the NM AgrAbility Project to 50 students attending the six-week U.S. Dairy Education & Training Consortium held in Clovis, NM. More
All three UNM occupational therapy graduate students (Robin Gibbs, Celia
Giallanella and Barrett Harding) have been accepted as speakers to the 2022 New Mexico Occupational Therapy Annual Conference, where they will speak about case reports with the NM AgrAbility, Mandy's Farm, and University of New Mexico collaboration.
Two journal articles have been published with different collaborators from NM AgrAbility as authors: non-profit team member Jessie Calero and graduated occupational therapy fieldwork student Sandia Wood. More
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The NC AgrAbility team has been learning and working in video creation. They are recording personal presentations and demo tool videos.
On July 25, NC AgrAbility participated at the Legacy Acres event "Cool Beans," teaching the farming families about safety on the farm and preventing injuries while doing farm tasks. Ten participants attended the session and received educational materials.
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NCA&T and NC AgrAbility participated this year at the 1890 Association of Extension Administrators AEA Conference in Orlando, FL, from July 31st to August 4th. NC AgrAbility presented a poster titled: "Overcome Challenges and Continue Farming." Twenty-seven attendees received the poster presentation. |
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Ohio AgrAbility staff are keeping busy during this very hot summer. Rural Rehabilitation Coordinators Rachel Jarman and Randy Joseph are visiting farms, writing assessments, demonstrating Assistive Technology for the farmers, and collaborating with vendors and Ohio's vocational rehabilitation agency to keep Ohio farmers farming.
Disability Services Coordinator Laura Akgerman recently presented to the Ohio Brain Injury Advisory Board. More
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The annual LIFE Project/AgrAbility 1890 Land-grant Institution Workshop was held at Tennessee State University's downtown Nashville campus June 7-8. The conference set a new attendance record with 67 participants. More
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TN farmer veteran consultant Charley Jordan shared his story of how he migrates farm stress on his farm operation. Charley stated: "I never realized that going from Army Special Operations to bouquets was the journey I would take. More
TN AgrAbility and the STAR Center connected with the UT Extension family and consumer science agents/specialists across the state to share how TN AgrAbility and FCS can benefit each program. FCS CONNECT is a webinar series connecting community and health agencies/programs across the state.
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Happy Birthday America - TNAP staff celebrated Independence Day with their families and are thankful for those who are serving or have served to give Americans their freedom!
TNAP promoted the 32nd anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act on social media. More
TNAP promoted #988 on July 16th. #988 is a universal entry point so that no matter where people live in the U.S., they can easily access, 24/7, emotional support or assistance.... More
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TNAP, TN Association of Rescue Squads, and KY Department of Ag came together for PTO and grain bin safety demonstrations at the 32nd Milan No Till Production Crop Field Day. More
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The STAR Center staff roped attendees at the Milan No Till Field Day to show off their muscles using a hand dynamometer. Fifty-seven plus attended the TN Farmer Veteran Picnic in conjunction with the 32nd Milan No Till Crop Production Field Day. More
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East TN hosted its first TN grain bin safety/rescue awareness training for ag producers and rescue personnel with 39 in attendance. TN AgrAbility, UT/TSU Extension, and AgCentral Co-op coordinated the event, while TN Association of Rescue Squads (TARS) provided the instruction. More
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TN AgrAbility, Star Center's Olivia Russi, assistive technology specialist, and Finis Stribling, TSU TN AgrAbility PI & TSU director over New Farmer Academy, addressed the Tennessee State University OT students about the world of agriculture and assistive technology. |
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TNAP has partnered with KY Raising Hope to demonstrate how one can start the conversation about mental health. Dale Dobson, KY Department of Agriculture, demonstrated the power of handshake, building trust with farmers, More
Powerful stories were shared and are now available online of the "Farmer Panel of Lived Experiences". Thanks to the Kimbroughs of Growin' on Faith Farm, Texas' Battleground to Breaking Ground, and Dale Dobson, safety administrator of KY Department of Agriculture. Session recordings can be listened to starting at 48 minutes on Day 1 HERE. |
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BattleGround to Breaking Ground held its first Agriculture Business Bootcamp. Participants spent five days visiting local farms/ranches, learning about business planning basics, learning about farm and equipment safety, and visiting with a variety of agriculture agencies and programs including Texas AgrAbility. |
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Participants in the new Mentor Training Program (MTP), a new portion of the BattleGround to Breaking Ground program, attended training and were certified in CPR, first aid, and Stop the Bleed. The program hopes these trainings will equip mentors with the tools they need should an emergency arise on their farm/ranch. |
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AgrAbility of Utah staff was excited to meet and explain AgrAbility to over 475 FFA students during their Chapter Officer Leadership Trainings. The trainings were held in Cedar City on July 7, Orem on July 12, and Morgan on July 14.
On July 6th and 19th, AgrAbility of Utah staff met with the staff at RRCI to teach them about AgrAbility. RRCI is an Independent Living Center that covers nine counties in the southern part of Utah.
On June 27, AgrAbility of Utah was able to present to 25 members of the Cache Interagency Council. The mission of the Cache Interagency Council is to unite non-profits and community service organizations in sharing ideas, upcoming events, and ongoing services, thus producing a spirit of unity and cooperation among the participating organizations.
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AgrAbility Virginia is currently working with 15 farmer clients at various levels of engagement and need. This includes a farmer with traumatic brain injury navigating farm succession.
Staff also exhibited at the Virginia Dairy Expo in Dayton, VA, on July 8th.
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AgrAbility Virginia staff partnered with DARS and the non-profit Live, Work, Eat, Grow to host a "Feeling Good in the Garden" workshop that highlighted ergonomics and assistive technology to make gardening more accessible. Twelve attended the session. Staff plans to offer similar workshops with local partners in other areas of the state.
AgrAbility Virginia plans to present and exhibit at the Next Generation Sustainable Technologies for Small Scale Producers National Conference in September, hosted by North Carolina A&T in Greensboro, NC.
Staff have scheduled a Virginia Cooperative Extension in-service training on AgrAbility for Extension agents and specialists on October 18.
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Many obstacles remain across Africa to achieve equality, inclusion, and justice for everyone faced with disability, and although legislation exists for the purpose, it is seldom enforced, and many laws are obsolete today. More
About 90% of farming across Africa is rain fed, and climate change is happening. Lack of understanding of the changes in weather patterns by many farmers inevitably attracts a lot of theories and superstitions. More
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Our North Star, fearless leader, and beloved colleague, Lani Carlson, has taken a position as the assistive technology specialist for Maine CITE. She has been a stalwart fixture of Maine AgrAbility for the past 10 years and created a nationally recognized and admired program. We miss her terribly, but are comforted in knowing that she is only a phone call away. We know this because we've already called her several times. She probably regrets giving us her new phone number. Thank you for everything, Lani! |
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AgrAbility Virginia Community Outreach Specialist Liza Dobson left their position at the end of May to focus full-time on their growing flower farm in Meadows of Dan, Virginia. This position has been filled by Leslie Lawrence with Easterseals UCP. |
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Click titles below for news stories featuring AgrAbility projects.
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Click titles below for other news of interest to AgrAbility staff members.
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