Indiana

The Purdue University Extension Professional Development Conference (PDC) held December 13-14 at the Tippecanoe County Fairgrounds Event Center in Lafayette, Indiana. This annual gathering brings together over 300 Extension professionals, including county Extension educators and campus-based specialists, to network and share experiences, programs, and ideas.

Several Indiana AgrAbility staff members participated in the event and had the opportunity to educate fellow Extension professionals about both state and national efforts to assist farm families impacted by disability. Latino Outreach Coordinator Kimber Nicoletti-Martinez discussed strategies to increase access to mental health services to farmworker communities in the post-COVID era. Another breakout session featured AT Specialist Steve Swain, NAP Project Manager Paul Jones, and Indiana and NAP Project Director Bill Field highlighting and demonstrating the impact of assistive technology. This session also included AgrAbility partner LifeLyfts which brought along a truck-mounted lift for Extension staff to try out. Ed Sheldon, extension outreach coordinator, presented a poster featuring the successful Legacy Innovation Farming Economics (LIFE) Project partnership to enhance services to socially disadvantaged audiences. In addition to the formal presentations, team members were able to visit personally with many Extension colleagues and distribute AgrAbility resources at a tabletop exhibit.

The conference provided a great chance for the Indiana team to introduce AgrAbility to newer Extension professionals, while also allowing the staff to re-connect with "veteran" Extension partners from throughout Indiana and other Purdue departments.

Submitted by Ed Sheldon