Michigan

Michigan AgrAbility staff attended the Michigan Shepherds Weekend (state meeting of the MI Sheep Producers Association). An AgrAbility client joined staff to co-present and shared her story of how she had worked with Ned Stoller and Michigan Rehabilitation Services over the last year to make it possible to continue raising sheep and cattle after a farm incident that had led to an amputation of her right leg below the knee. Her storytelling was powerful and beautifully illustrated the mission of the program. It was also her first time joining the event and networking with other sheep producers.

Finally, Extension Educator Samantha Wolfe traveled to Taiwan through the MSU International Programs Global Scholars program, where she visited an assistive technology center in Taipei and then joined a university field trip to visit farms along the west coast and southwest of Taiwan, organized by Dr. Bruce Yang of National Chung Hsing University in Taichung. They visited fruit, vegetables, mushrooms and agritourism, livestock, and fishery production farms, as well as a seedling grafting nursery and a social enterprise and vanilla greenhouse set beneath a solar array. Sam had the opportunity to talk with farmers at each stop about their methods and challenges, as well as speak with other farmers at the university's organic market. A highlight included visiting a clinic and senior center incorporated directly into a local farmer association's campus and speaking with the rural healthcare provider there.

Submitted by Samantha Wolfe