National AgrAbility Project
Registration is open for the Regional Workshop in Davis, CA, on December 3-4, at the Mondavi Sensory Theatre. The regional event in Davis will focus on how occupational therapists, physical therapists, and other rehabilitation professionals can collaborate with AgrAbility, working with the issues of migrant farmworkers and collaborating with other partners such as DOR and the centers for agricultural safety and health. The second day will feature a tour of some local agricultural businesses and a migrant center.
The closest hotel to the Mondavi Sensory Theater is the Hyatt UC Davis. More information about the workshop and registration can be found HERE.
The Regional Workshop in State College, PA, had a wonderful turnout last month. There were 36 attendees from five different states. Presentations were insightful and covered topics on OT, AT, funding, and resources. Copies of these sessions can be found on the AgrAbility PA website. The second day, attendees went offsite to a sheep/goat farm, where staff were able to talk about potential modifications to make chores easier for the farmer, and the farmer and attendees had a chance to try out some tracked chairs. There was also a presentation during lunch at The Smokey Pig from a female veteran who now runs a tea business called The Skirted Soldier. After lunch, the tour visited Hands On Therapeutic Riding Program. Thank you to all who attended and to those who helped make this workshop a great success!
Submitted by Goodwill of the Finger Lakes
In September, the USDA's Office of Advocacy and Outreach announced that the Peoples Foundation in California with partners National AgrAbility Project (NAP) and Legacy Farming and Health Group (LFHG) in Indiana had been awarded a three-year Outreach and Assistance for Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers and Veteran Farmers and Ranchers grant (also known as a 2501 grant). The primary purpose of the grant is to assist socially disadvantaged and veteran farmers and ranchers in owning and operating farms and ranches while increasing their participation in agricultural programs and services provided by the USDA. The name of the new project in which the NAP is a partner is the LIFE (Legacy Innovation Farming Economics) Project. This project will allow the NAP to increase its outreach to veteran and minority farmers and ranchers, help provide funding for farmer/rancher stipends to the NTW for these agricultural groups, and give NAP staff valuable experience in working as a partner with other groups serving socially disadvantaged agricultural communities.
November 1-2, Chuck Baldwin, National AgrAbility Project's underserved populations outreach coordinator, participated in the 29th annual conference of the National Black Farmers Association in Prattville, Alabama, as a presenter and exhibitor. More than 500 people, most of them African American farmers, attended the meetings and festivities.
The theme of the conference was "ReClaiming, ReGaining, and ReGenerating Our Farms." In addition to a wide variety of speakers from USDA organizations like AgrAbility, FSA, and NRCS, video greetings were conveyed by Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue, and the keynote speaker was Rohan Marley, son of reggae artist and legend, Bob Marley.
Rohan Marley is an entrepreneur and former football player for the University of Miami Hurricanes and the Canadian professional football league. He is the founder (2009) of Marley Coffee, an organic coffee plantation and sustainable farming business. In 2012, Marley founded the "House of Marley," a range of eco-friendly headphones and stereo speakers which are currently top sellers at such major consumer electronic stores as Best Buy, PC Richards, Verizon, and others. Rohan is also the founder of "Lion Order by Rohan Marley," a cannabis and CBD line of products to begin distribution in Colorado and eventually other states beginning in 2020.
Chuck Baldwin's AgrAbility address compared AgrAbility to a good marriage partner for the times in a farmer's/rancher's life when things get tough as a result of a disability or functional limitation. He shared that during those times, a partner is needed who gives respect, who will sit down at the kitchen table and listen before speaking, who doesn't see the person before them as any less capable because they have a limitation, and who believes that by putting their heads together they can come up with solutions that will improve the farmer's quality of life and keep them doing what they love to do for as long as possible. Baldwin explained how AgrAbility can be that partner.
Also attending the NBFA conference were eight members of the LIFE Project in which the NAP is a partner. Legacy Farming and Health Group founder John Jamerson, an African American farmer from Princeton, Indiana, and a member of the historically significant Lyle's Station group of Black farmers, was there with his wife Denise, son DeAnthony, and brother TJ. Tameka Peoples, founder and president of the Peoples Foundation was also there, as were Jettie Townsend (Haven Trust) and his daughter, Andrommeda, and Gabriel MontReynaud (Pangea Farms). Chuck was able to meet with these partners for the first time face-to-face to discuss work plans, challenges, and opportunities with the LIFE Project - a definite bonus to all that took place with the NBFA conference.