Missouri AgrAbility staff members and MU Extension state and regional faculty members showcased interactive hands-on health and safety displays and disseminated veteran, beginning farmer, women in ergonomics, limited resource, and Latino AgrAbility resources specific to the state of Missouri at the 2017 Missouri State Fair, August 10-20, 2017.
Missouri AgrAbility and 2501 staff participated in four Latino Farmers, Understanding the Alphabet Soup of USDA Programs, workshops hosted August 5, 12, 19, and 26. All Latino farmer workshops and resource materials provided were in Spanish. Latino farmers learned about how to tap into USDA FSA programs, and services provided by Missouri AgrAbility.
Congratulations to Karen Funkenbusch, director of Missouri AgrAbility, who accepted an invitation to become a Cambio Center Fellow at the University of Missouri. As a Cambio Center Fellow, Funkenbusch's research and outreach work to better understand the Latino and immigrant farmers and farmworkers with disabilities process in midwest Missouri will be supported by the Cambio Center Support.
Submitted by Karen Funkenbusch
Maureen Cunningham, with the Brain Injury Association of Missouri, represented the Missouri AgrAbility Project at the Missouri Rural Health Conference with an exhibit. Approximately 250 healthcare and community living professionals were in attendance to visit the BIA-MO and MAP booth for more information on farming and ranching as self-employment options for individuals with brain injury or other disabilities.
Submitted by Maureen Cunningham
Kelly Cochran, PharmD, BCPS, from the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Pharmacy, a Missouri AgrAbility collaborator, presented at the Missouri Rural Health Conference on the topic Pharmacists as a Resource in Rural Health. The audience of over 40 individuals learned how pharmacists, as the most accessible healthcare professionals, are partners in the health and safety of farmers/ranchers and serve as a resource to link them with resources such as the AgrAbility Project.
UMKC student pharmacists partnered with Pharm to Farm to provide farmers and farm families at the Missouri State Fair with rural wellness screenings and safety information. Thirty-six individuals were provided education about farm safety and health, AgriSafe health risk assessments were provided, and Pharm to Farm and AgrAbility flyers were distributed. Wellness screenings including diabetes risk assessment, blood pressure/heart health, immunization education, medication safety, tobacco cessation, and medication safety education, were provided for 425 attendees and farm families at a value of over $5000.
Submitted by Kelly Cochran