Programming slowed down during the month of December for Missouri AgrAbility. 4-H Save Your Brain ambassadors rang the Salvation Army bell during the holiday season and handed out the 4-H Save Your Brain and Missouri AgrAbility info sheets about the program to recruit volunteers. They also provided several facts about traumatic brain injury and ways to prevent it, especially during the holidays. For example, safe practices when putting up lights and avoiding drinking and driving on New Year's Eve.
Missouri AgrAbility team members continued to assist John Fuller, MU Extension field specialist in human development, with planning the Ag Connect conference, "Connecting Farmers Back to their Roots," which will take place January 20 - January 21, in Poplar Bluff, Missouri. Information about Ag Connect is found at https://extension.missouri.edu/events/ag-connect or can be followed on Poplar Bluff Ag Connect on Facebook @agconnectpb/.
Missouri AgrAbility team members also continued to work with the National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT) and Veteran Urban Farm for an upcoming Armed to Farm Conference, April 10-14, in Columbia, Missouri. Armed to Urban Farm is a sustainable agriculture training program for military veterans who are new farmers in urban areas. The week-long training will feature classroom trainings, farm tours, and hands-on activities at a variety of successful farms. Farmer veterans learn from seasoned farmers and gain direct experience on livestock, vegetable, fruit, and agritourism operations. Armed to Farm Conference information is found at https://www.armedtofarm.org.
Submitted by: MU Extension
St. Louis area professionals learned about Missouri AgrAbility during the Brain Injury Association of Missouri (BIA-MO) Networking Coffee for Professionals on December 6. Four of the eight participants were first-time attendees after learning about this educational and marketing opportunity during the BIA-MO Annual Statewide Conference in October 2022.
Brain Injury Association of America (BIAA) Board of Directors learned about the Missouri AgrAbility and BIA-MO partnership from Maureen Cunningham, BIA-MO executive director and BIAA board member. This discussion included how brain injury influences various disabilities and how AgrAbility serves farmers and ranchers with a wide variety of disabilities and chronic diseases.
Submitted by: Brain Injury Association of Missouri