Michigan
The First Annual Alpha Gamma Rho (AGR) Golf Outing benefiting Michigan AgrAbility was held on April 17. The golf outing took place at Forest Akers Golf Course at Michigan State University. About 130 golfers showed up for the event. AGR has been supporting Michigan AgrAbility for over 10 years through Beef Preview Shows, Hog Roast, and Spring Rodeo. Thank you AGR for your support of the Michigan AgrAbility program supporting the agriculture community!
Michigan AgrAbility staff continue their educational outreach efforts by posting assistive technology ideas to make farming jobs easier for their Facebook visitors. Examples include:
A Fabric Raised Bed in the field or inside the greenhouse can increase yields, reduce weeds and other pests, improve soil condition, conserve water, and lengthen the growing season. In addition, it can be reconfigured and relocated. The fabric that forms the bed is a flexible, heavy-duty pond liner material, which reportedly neither leaches chemicals into the ground nor absorbs them from the surroundings. Included with the fabric is a supply of two-foot-long, galvanized-steel ground posts to be located every five linear feet. Configuration of the bed is determined by how one places the posts. Limitations addressed by product: Lower extremity, strength/endurance, back. -
A 50- or 100-gallon capacity Utility Vehicle Sprayer and Flat Fold Boom, which mounts in the back of a pickup or utility vehicle, can be used to spot-spray fields/pastures, spray cattle or transport water. It can also supply a 10', 14', or 20' Flat Fold Boom that mounts in the vehicle's receiver hitch. It comes fitted with a Flojet Quad pump (operating off the vehicle's electrical system). The unit includes the tank, pump, hose, spray gun and hose wrap. The boom is equipped with spring breakaways and nozzles on 20" spacing. -
A customizable Snip-N-Drip Soaker Hose System designed for raised-bed as well as in-ground gardens allows one to apply water only where it's wanted. Setting up the system involves: (1) cutting soaker hose to fit the selected garden bed areas, (2) cutting the garden hose to run between the selected areas, (3) then snapping the fittings together. The soaker hose's 'weeping action' is designed to deliver water right to the roots with minimal evaporation or runoff. The System kit includes 50 feet of 1/2-inch soaker hose, 25 feet of 1/2-inch garden hose, a faucet adapter, a quick-connect coupler, eight hose couplers, and an end cap.
Limitations addressed by product: Lower extremity, upper extremity, strength/endurance, back.
Surveillance for farm-related injuries in Michigan began in 2015. Records from Michigan's hospitals/emergency departments are used to identify farm-related injuries in farmers and farm workers. The information is used to plan educational activities and set priorities regarding specific types of injuries and geographic parts of the state to emphasize prevention programs to reduce the number of injuries in the agricultural sector. The data is also used to make referrals to the Michigan AgrAbility program. The Occupational and Environmental Medicine Division at Michigan State University prepares periodic reports on work-related farm injuries in Michigan. The second report on work-related farm injuries in Michigan for years 2017 through 2019 was published on April 19, 2021. The report is available at: www.oem.msu.edu.
Submitted by Joanna Kica