National AgrAbility Project News
The full Senate passed its version of the Farm Bill, so now the House and Senate will convene a conference committee to reconcile differences between their respective versions of the bill. Both versions currently provide continued authorization for AgrAbility.
The NAP is planning a new promotional video similar in purpose to AgrAbility: It's About Hope. Look for a web poll coming soon and provide your input about the video's themes, stucture, distribution methods, etc.
The NAP recently launched a new web page, Funding Assistance. If you have suggestions about additional resources to add to this page, please contact Paul Jones jonesp@purdue.edu.
Upcoming AgrAbility Webinar: "Peer Support for People with Disabilities in Rural and Agricultural Communities," Thursday, August 2 at 3:00 p.m. ET. Registration should be open this week.
Chuck Baldwin, NAP's special population outreach coordinator, and Dr. Danyele Clingan, OTD, staffed an AgrAbility booth at the annual Amish Handicap [sic] Gathering just outside of Berlin, OH, June 8-9. More
The AgrAbility Webinar "Social Media Tips & Tricks: Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram...Oh My!" is now archived at www.agrability.org/online-training/archived/. Many thanks to Kelly Gagnon of Illinois AgrAbility Unlimited for providing this presentation.
In case you missed it, AgrAbility received some great coverage in Ag pride 2018 from Tri-State Livestock News. See https://issuu.com/thefencepostcatalogs /docs/ag_pride_2018_lowres/41. Clients from several states were featured.
Toolbox Spotlight: The Tractor-Implement PTO Link is designed to simplify the often-frustrating, time-consuming task of inserting the tractor's power-take-off spline into the trailing implement's receiver (and later, disconnecting).
State and Regional AgrAbility Project News
California
California AgrAbility reached out to 20 families at the Dixon Migrant Center Health Fair. A graduate student from Dr. Fathallah's ergonomics in farming research lab attended the fair with California AgrAbility staff. More
California AgrAbility staff members were invited to present at the Employment Development Department (EDD) in Sutter County. Staff present were from the eligibility and outreach division. More
California AgrAbility conducted outreach at the Woodland Farmers Market. This event is an annual event that the farmers market includes with a health fair component. More
California AgrAbility attended the two-day Environmental Justice: Pesticide Enforcement Workshop hosted by the Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR). More
Colorado
June was a busy month for the Colorado AgrAbility Project (CAP). As has been the case for the past few years, they were invited to attend the state-level annual conferences of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, American Legion, and Disabled American Veterans. More
Colorado AgrAbility staff were approached by APRIL to take a role in the 2018 conference to be held, commencing October 5th, in Denver, CO. More
Indiana
The Indiana Master Gardener Conference was held at the Hendricks County Fairgrounds in Danville, Indiana. More
The Indiana FFA Convention was held at Purdue University in the Elliot Hall of Music with over 2,000 FFA members attending. Among the awards presented were the Indiana AgrAbility Bridging Horizons Community Service Contest winners. More
July was a busy month for Indiana AgrAbility. Booths were set up at the Orange County REMC annual meeting and the Hoosier Uplands Area 15 Agency on Aging Health Fair at Paoli. More
Kansas
Kansas AgrAbility staff discussed farm safety for the busy summer farming season during a radio interview that was distributed to and aired on radio stations across the state during wheat harvest.
Take a look at progress in the Fort Riley high tunnel, a cooperative effort among Kansas AgrAbility, Fort Riley Warrior Transition Battalion (WTB), WTB Adaptive Reconditioning Program, and the Fort Riley Soldiers and Family Assistance Center. More
Maine
Project Coordinator Lani Carlson met with vocational rehabilitation counselors, job developers, and workforce employment specialists in Bangor and Augusta Maine on June 7th and 12th. More
Maine AgrAbility exhibited at three events this month. On June 1-2, staff presented information about proper lifting techniques at the Maine Fiber Frolic in Windsor, ME; a fair focusing on fiber arts and fiber animals with over 80 exhibitors. More
On June 23, AgrAbility client Ron Harwood and his wife Melissa shared their ideas and methods of container gardening during the Annual Farm & Homestead Day in Unity, ME. More
Maine AgrAbility staff have been busy developing and sharing publication resources that may be useful for farmers of any ability. More
During a recent project evaluation, the lack of AgrAbility project's ability to provide funding for the recommendations given to farm clients was sorely apparent. More
During the last month, staff have met with their AgrAbility NP partners to discuss activities for the upcoming 12-month no-cost extension. More
Michigan
Michigan strawberries... yummm! You may not think strawberries are grown in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, but you would be mistaken... Meet one of Michigan AgrAbility's clients - Roger Pellegrini from Vulcan in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. More
Missouri
The Networking Coffees for Professionals hosted by the Brain Injury Association of Missouri continue to be successful, as eight first-time attendees learned about the Missouri AgrAbility Project on June 5. More
Nebraska
Nebraska AgrAbility staff attended the Cattlemen's Ball in Hebron, Nebraska. The charity mission of Cattlemen's Ball of Nebraska is to raise money for cancer research. More
The Day of Caring in Kearney, NE, provided a venue for staff to educate caregivers about AgrAbility. More
The Sandhills Ranch Expo was another event where staff reached out to many interested attendees and vendors to promote the AgrAbility program. More
NE AgrAbility staff attended the annual conference for International Society of Agricultural Safety and Health in Halifax, Nova Scotia,... More
The Nebraska AgrAbility website has had a preliminary face-lift and will only improve from here!
A staff member attended the Dundy County Hospital Health Fair and promoted AgrAbility. Several stopped to talk and took the Farmer Stretching brochure that was created by Nebraska AgrAbility.
North Carolina
On June 8th, NC AgrAbility staffed a booth at the "Gardening: A Prescription for Healthy Living" NC Extension Master Gardener Volunteer Association Conference in Greenville, NC. More
On June 14, at the NCA&T Small Farm Field Day (SFFD) in Greensboro, NC, AgrAbility presented a poster titled "Injuries in Agriculture: A Comparison to Other Industries". More
June 18 - 20, NC AgrAbility exhibited at the 14th Annual Minority Farmers and Land Owners Conference in Lumberton, NC. More than 200 small farmers had the opportunity to learn more about the resources available to them. More
On June 13, NC AgrAbility and professors of other programs at NCA&T met with Buck Cochran, executive director of Peacehaven Farm, to consider the possibility of collaborative work between NCA&T and the Peacehaven Farm. More
Ohio
Ohio AgrAbility on TV! OAP staff gave an overview of AgrAbility's history, services, peer support network activities, and how OAP helps Ohio farmers, during an interview with Ivory Harlow... More
Ohio AgrAbility was invited to present "Gardening with Arthritis, Gardening as We Age" Monday June 25. An Evening Garden Affair is an annual event hosted by the Hardin County Master Gardener Volunteers and the Men's Garden Club,... More
Pennsylvania
AgrAbility PA staff hosted and participated in a Mental Health First Aid USA training for Extension educators and ag professionals. More
Congrats to Line Mountain-Mahantango FFA Chapter, part of Line Mountain Jr./Sr. High School! They won the Bridging Horizons PA Contest sponsored by AgrAbility PA. More
AgrAbility PA's Summer 2018 printed newsletter mailed this month. Highlights include Dennis' story of determination, the importance of statewide partnerships written by Dr. Connie Baggett (PI), and an assistive technology spotlight. More
AgrAbility and a client were highlighted in Hoard's Dairyman!! The story features Philip Dean, a dairy farmer from Lawrence County, who has been able to maintain the "only way of life" the Dean family has known, dating back to 1840... More
Project Assistant Abbie Spackman provided an interactive session on managing farm stress to Women Rooted in Ag, a group supported by Penn State Extension and Reliance Bank. More
Tennessee
Tennessee AgrAbility Project (TNAP) hosted a "Stress on the Farm: Contagious and Deadly" webinar with Dr. Deborah Reed. More
Another resource in Tennessee that TNAP refers farmers to for making a business plan is UT MANAGE. More
TN has three TN New Farmer Academies that meet monthly across the state in Wartburg, Nashville, and Memphis, and has reached an audience of almost 100 beginning farmers. More
TNAP spoke to 27 OT students on the campus of Tennessee State University. They were very inquisitive and very interested in the AgrAbility project and would like to go out on farm visits. More
Texas
Texas AgrAbility has had a hot and eventful month.
The San Antonio area farm tour was held on June 29 at Mesquite Field Farm. Doug Havemann, co-owner of Mesquite Field Farm, is an army veteran and longtime AgrAbility supporter. More
Texas AgrAbility along with the Battleground to Breaking Ground Project hosted an agriculture workshop for veterans and beginning farmers and ranchers on June 30 in San Antonio. More
Battleground to Breaking Ground Entrepreneurial Training Project applications close July 20. Cohorts will be accepted in late July, and a basic training weekend will be hosted in College Station on August 24-26.
Vermont
Vermont AgrAbility continues to work without the USDA grant. The Vermont Center for Independent Living was the nonprofit partner in the Vermont AgrAbility grant that was lost two years ago, but VCIL has continued as an AgrAbility associate. More
Staff recently worked with the Vermont Farm Health and Safety Coalition week-long agricultural medicine training course for EMT and EMS districts' faculty and students... More
In addition, staff worked to promote improved health and safety among migrant farm workers.
VT AgrAbility also has a program to continue "Healthy Farmers, Healthy Farms" at farm shows and county fairs throughout Vermont.
West Virginia
This year the annual ISASH (International Society for Agricultural Safety and Health) conference was held in Halifax, Nova Scotia, June 24-29, 2018. WV AgrAbility staff attended this four-day training for the agricultural safety and health community. More
Wisconsin
AgrAbility of Wisconsin staff attended the 89th Wisconsin FFA State Convention for the Career Fair. More
Staff Changes and Recognition
Wisconsin
Thank you, Monette!
Monette Bebow-Reinhard, technical Assistant with the AgrAbility of Wisconsin program for three years, retired in June 2018. The AgrAbility of Wisconsin staff thanks her for dedication to the program and eagerness to assist Wisconsin farmers. The staff wishes Monette the best of luck as she moves into the next chapter in her life.
AgrAbility in the News
Click here for news stories featuring AgrAbility projects.
- Returning disabled farmers and ranchers to agriculture through AgrAbility
- AgrAbility Partners With Agribotix to Help Farmers With Disabilities Stay Productive and Progressive
- AgrAbility program from MU helps farmers after injury
- Ohio AgrAbility at OSU South Centers Podcast
- Ohio AgrAbility in Action: Ohio AgrAbility Educational Workshops
- Modifications kept him milking
Other News
Click here for other news of interest to AgrAbility staff members.
- Hazlett on Stop Youth Opioid Abuse campaign
- Joint statement of action to promote elder justice
- How Native American food is tied to stories
- 29 fire departments receive grain bin rescue tubes
- USDA highlights benefits of Tax Cuts & Jobs Act
- USDA enhances quality of life in rural areas
- AFT's 10th Annual Farmers Market Celebration
- Urban farm supports former inmates, veterans
- $309M investment in rural electric
- Commodity Classic releases 2019 schedule
- World’s First Pay-What-You-Can Grocery Store! It Saves Food Otherwise Destined for Trash
Upcoming Events
Click here for professional development events related to AgrAbility.Problems? Contact Chuck Baldwin, National AgrAbility Project, baldwi19@purdue.edu