MU Extension was awarded a USDA Office of Advocacy and Outreach, Outreach, and Assistance for Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers and Veteran Farmers and Ranchers Program (also known as the 2501 Program) grant. The proposed project, Missouri Outreach and Assistance for Latino, Veteran and Socially Disadvantaged Farmers, will assist enterprises in the farming and agribusiness sector. Karen Funkenbusch, PI/director of the 2501 grant project, and MU extension faculty will scale-up existing outreach programs and technical assistance resources to address the five priority areas using a multi-faceted approach over a 12-month period. Eight workshops on "Understanding the Alphabet Soup of USDA Programs" including AgrAbility, four "Grow Your Farm" (GYF) courses, and a curriculum designed by MU Extension, will be scheduled across the state. Workshop sessions and GYF courses will be taught in English and Spanish. Quantitative and qualitative measures in Spanish and English will be used to measure pre/post knowledge gained with anticipated change in behavior actions. For more information contact Karen Funkenbusch, 573-884-1268 or funkenbuschk@missouri.edu.
Karen Funkenbusch was accepted to present her NIFA-funded AgrAbility programmatic poster, "Success of Missouri Farm Family Members with Disabilities through AgrAbility Program" at the 2016 MU Extension Summit. Co-authors included: Willard Downs, Sherry Nelson, James Crawford, Beverly Maltsberger, Connie Neal, Robert Schultheis, Angela Fletcher, Kelly Dyer, and Jeff Samborski - University of Missouri Extension; K.B. Paul, Reneesha Auboug, Miranda Duschack, David Middleton, and Susan Jaster - Lincoln University Cooperative Extension; and Maureen Cunningham - Brain Injury Association of Missouri.
Missouri's collaborative partners assisted University of Missouri health science students to design the following "new" AgrAbility resource materials:
Submitted by Karen Funkenbusch
The Brain Injury Association of Missouri (BIA-MO) increased awareness and referrals to the Missouri AgrAbility Project through its exhibit at the Coordinated School Health Conference to educate school nurses and administrators about farming and ranching as a career option for soon-to-be graduates with disabilities, including brain injury. Marketing and networking continued with the Brain Injury Association of Missouri support groups, Professional Networking Meetings, and the Brain Injury Association of America Board of Directors Meeting.
Submitted by Maureen Cunningham