Missouri

Missouri AgrAbility focused its social media efforts on program promotion, opportunities and resources for farmers, and health, safety, and wellness tips. Please be sure to like and follow Missouri AgrAbility, @MOAgrAbility, on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Missouri AgrAbility was involved at three in-person conferences this month. Staff members provided education-based presentations, shared resources and information about preventing secondary injuries, facilitated hands-on demonstrations, and promoted AgrAbility marketing and networking initiatives. Conferences included: Great Plains Growers Conference, January 10 - January 12; Missouri Dairy Expo 2023, January 20; and AgConnect, January 21 - 22.

Missouri AgrAbility staff continued to plan an Armed to Farm Conference. National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT) is teaming up with the Columbia Center for Urban Agriculture's Veterans Urban Farm program and University of Missouri Extension to bring NCAT's Armed to Farm training to Missouri for the first time. This sustainable agriculture training is for veterans in the Midwest, with preference given to those in Missouri. The number of participants will be limited. Armed to Farm will take place April 10-14 in Columbia, Missouri.

Submitted by: Emily Doosing, Tevin Utlauh, Elizabeth Picking, and Karen Funkenbusch

Lincoln University Innovative Small Farmer's Program Outreach (ISFOP) Workers Angela Brattin, Mary Bolling, and Demetrius Moore joined the University of Missouri Extension's Karen Funkenbusch at AgConnect, an event connecting small farmers to resources in Southeast Missouri. Local farmers, families, and veterans were able to receive information on stress relief and suicide prevention, farm safety, and many USDA programs available to them.

Susan Jaster, ISFOP and outreach coordinator for Missouri AgrAbility, collaborated with MU Extension's Kathy Dothage, co-director, Missouri Farm and Ranch Stress Program to present "Stress on the Farm" at the Missouri Dairy Expo in Springfield, Missouri, on January 20th. Invited speakers spoke about how to help farmers and their families understand the effects of stress on the mind and body and how to manage it effectively during difficult times. Forty-five attendees each received the stress relief information and resources for suicide prevention.

Submitted by: Mary Bolling

Maureen Cunningham, Brain Injury Association of Missouri executive director and Missouri AgrAbility co-PI, participated in networking opportunities to establish and strengthen awareness and utilization of Missouri AgrAbility. These meetings included the Missouri Association of Rehab Facilities on January 17 and 18, 2023. There was also a new-contact meeting with the Jessica Giacone of the Missouri Association of Trauma Nurses to explore opportunities to connect farmers with disabilities to Missouri AgrAbility early in the recovery process. Ms. Cunningham participated in the Kansas City VA Medical Center Quarterly Congressional Meeting to maintain awareness and contacts of services for veterans with brain injury through the Kansas City VA.

Submitted by: Maureen Cunningham