Tennessee

A Veterans Day salute and thank you to all who serve and have served our country! Thank you, Mr. Stapleton, a proud U.S. Army Vietnam veteran and farmer. He faces mobility challenges after several knee and back surgeries and degenerative nerve damage but still takes initiative and farms each day. TN AgrAbility partnered with the TN Vocational Rehabilitation Program, which funded a LifeLyft platform tractor lift to help him get safely on/off his tractor and back to farming. And thanks to Celina Menard for the great LifeLyft photo.

Thank you to GA Farm Again for another educational and inspiring AgrileadHER conference. TN AgrAbility participated and appreciated all the work GA and partners did to recruit wonderful speakers. Thank you to Dr. Rebecca Brightwell for the AgrileadHER vision and passion to make a difference with her work in AgrAbility. It was a sad day when everyone heard Rebecca had lost her battle with cancer. She will be missed! The University of Georgia's team carried on in her memory and reminded participants at the 2nd AgrileadHER conference "Women need to invest in yourself!" The conference was for every woman who is passionate about agriculture and food, whether a university student studying agriculture, a producer, an entrepreneur, a representative of a grower association, or corporate agribusiness professional. Great virtual exhibits including Southern Ag Exchange Network, National AgrAbility Project, and Farmer Veteran Coalition.

Two hundred fifty Fayette County, TN, 5th graders participated in the annual Fayette County Farm Fest sponsored by Fayette County UT TSU Extension and Farm Bureau. TN AgrAbility presented information on helmet safety and let the students have hands on experience visualizing the difference in wearing a helmet and not wearing a helmet when riding a motorized vehicle. Hard-boiled eggs were used to demonstrate riders with helmets and uncooked eggs were used to demonstrate riders without a helmet.

TN AgrAbility partners with the Southern Ag Exchange Network ( SAgE TN), the Southern region effort of the USDA Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network (FRSAN), which addresses heightened stress and elevated suicide rates in rural farming communities. The inaugural issue of Sowing SAgE, the monthly newsletter, introduces SAgE and our director, Tesha Humphrey-plus the first SAgE research brief and more. Follow the link to read the whole thing, and don't forget to subscribe! https://conta.cc/40vl59t

Hours of training and thousands of dollars for equipment paid off recently when Lawrence County rescue personnel saved the life of a farmer trapped in a grain bin.

Lawrence County first responders put their training to the test when a farmer became trapped in a grain bin on November 29 in the town of Ethridge. Fire chief Nathan Keeton reported the farmer was 90 percent entrapped in corn. Crews provided medical assistance and used the turtle tube and Great Wall tubes around the farmer to stabilize the corn, which was then removed by vacuum. No injuries were reported.

"At each training, I tell the audience that I hope they never have to use the rescue tubes except for training. (On November 29) I received a call and text I had hoped would never happen," said Joetta White, UT Extension specialist with Tennessee AgrAbility who coordinates the TN Grain Bin Safety/Rescue Awareness trainings. "Everyone who worked the scene had been trained in grain bin rescue, and it paid off. There was a rescue and not a fatality."
(Above taken from Elizabeth Davis for UTIA news release.)

Submitted by Tennessee AgrAbility Project