Ohio
On a crisp fall Sunday morning, 11 members of Ohio State's Agricultural Systems Management (ASM) club caravanned down a rough one-lane road in Morrow County, Ohio. But they were not going to a club meeting: they were on their way to work at BaaLiss Grass Farm, an organic grass, chicken, sheep, and cattle farm. The ASM club and Ohio AgrAbility had scheduled the day of service to assist Clarence and Deborah, two Ohio AgrAbility clients who have been struggling with health issues and who have had to defer the maintenance and upkeep of the farm.
The week before the students went to the farm, Clarence and Deb spent a few hours in the Ohio AgrAbility tent at Farm Science Review, and they told OAP staff that they were very excited, hoping the students could "get a few things done" for them. The list of projects the students did was far more than "a few things".
While at BaaLiss farm they:
- Built a shade structure
- Cleaned the mower and the granary
- Filled holes with cement
- Cut back trees from the gateway
- Moved the gate and cattle panels
- Moved the hay elevator to the window in the barn
- Loaded the six-wheeler on the trailer
- Removed the battery out of the old Ford
- Changed the oil in the 165 Ferguson
ASM club's service work embodies the mission of AgrAbility - to enhance quality of life for farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural workers with disabilities, so that they, their families, and their communities continue to succeed in rural America.
As important as the work that was done was the attitude of the students towards Clarence and Deb: they were respectful partners, not there to offer charity; they were there to offer time, strength, and friendship, just like AgrAbility. OAP staff are grateful for the students' hard work and are looking forward to scheduling another service day for another OAP farm family.
Submitted by Laura Akgerman and Jessy Woodworth