Oklahoma AgrAbility Newsletter
Fall 2002 • Volume 1 • Issue 1
An Introduction to AgrAbility
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NOTE: Mention or display of a trademark, proprietary product or firm in text or figures does not constitute an endorsement by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Oklahoma State University, Langston University or the National AgrAbility Project and does not imply approval to the exclusion of other suitable products or firms.
In This Issue
Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service
Oklahoma Assistive Technology Foundation (OkAT)
What is AgrAbility?
AgrAbility has become one of rural America’s most valuable and cost-effective resources, providing on-farm assessments to over 5,700 farmers and ranchers with physical/mental disabilities since 1991. AgrAbility is an excellent example of a customer-driven, USDA-funded program.
The AgrAbility Project is authorized through a provision in the 1990 Farm Bill. Congress began funding the project in 1991. Grants have been awarded to selected land-grant university Cooperative Extension Services that have partnered with nonprofit disability organizations to provide education and assistance to agricultural workers with disabilities and their families. The Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which is a network that links research, science, and technology to meet the needs of people where they live and work, administers the AgrAbility Project. The national AgrAbility program partners, Easter Seals, and University of Wisconsin-Extension collaborate to support state AgrAbility Projects.
For more than three million Americans earning their livings in agriculture, the work is their livelihood and way of life. Agricultural production is hazardous. Each year, hundreds of thousands of farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural workers experience injuries that limit their ability to perform essential farm tasks. Many more become disabled as a result of non-farm injuries, illnesses, other health conditions, and the aging process.
People with disabilities who work or live in agricultural settings want to continue to do so despite their disabilities. Rural isolation, limited personal resources, and gaps in rural service delivery systems are among the frustrating obstacles.
The AgrAbility Project offers education and assistance to identify ways to accommodate disabilities, eliminate barriers, and create a favorable climate among rural service providers for people with disabilities. AgrAbility helps people stay in agriculture.
Success stories include a hog, cattle, and grain farmer who sustained a spinal cord injury and is now an AgrAbility peer support volunteer. Staff helped him research options for and work with vocational rehabilitation to purchase a vehicle to get around his farm, do spot spraying, and carry tools, equipment, and feed. He chose a Kawasaki MULE, with a seat belt, a rollover protection structure, a wheelchair lift installed in the bed, and an extended hitch so he could pull small wagons and implements.
Another participant is a dairy and crop farmer who lost his left arm below the elbow and part of three fingers on his right hand in a corn picker accident. AgrAbility staff and vocational rehabilitation helped him get a total-mixed ration wagon for feeding the cows (eliminating the need for heavy lifting), a skid steer leader, and an automatic feed bin. These allow him to farm more self-sufficiently and safely.
AgrAbility has assisted a teenager with cerebral palsy. His family learned how to adapt their household and farm equipment so he can help with chores indoors and out. A special handle added to a feed bucket enables him to feed the cattle, and a modified gate handle gives him one-handed access. Prior to these simple modifications, both activities were very difficult for him.
AgrAbility was developed to help all ages, races, and disability types. The program has been successful in rural areas nation wide and with support will continue to grow.
Demonstration Kits
AgrAbility Project partners are creating low-tech assistive technology demonstration kits for use across the state. These kits are designed to enhance the knowledge and understanding of assistive technology.
The kits contain items commonly used in the home and on the farm which have been adapted for easier use by individuals who have arthritis, limited strength or flexibility, or who are blind or deaf. Many of the devices are marketed for non-disabled users because they reduce strain and make tasks easier.
The kits are still under construction, please watch in future issues to see what kits are available.
If you would like to see some of the items in our Gardening kit please go to our website www. agrability.okstate.edu.
Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Servicet
Cooperative Extension was designed as a partnership of the Land Grant Universities and Colleges and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The Cooperative Extension organizations in Colleges/Universities were created by the Morrill Act of 1862, Morrill Act of 1890, and Equity in Educational Land-Grant Status Act of 1994; and are funded through the Smith-Lever Act that provides Federal funds for the Cooperative Extension Service. The Cooperative Extension System's statement of mission is clear: "The Cooperative Extension System helps people improve their lives through an educational process which uses scientific knowledge focused on issues and needs."
Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service (OCES) professionals are the “front door” to the University, providing a link between OSU and the people of the state in all 77 Oklahoma counties. The OCES represents a federal, state, and county partnership working since 1914. Its mission is to disseminate information to the people of Oklahoma and encourage the adoption of research-generated knowledge. OCES educational programs in agriculture and natural resources, family and consumer sciences, 4-H youth development and community and rural development are designed to enhance the quality of life for all Oklahomans.
Naturally, OCES’s involvement in the Oklahoma AgrAbility Project relates to outreach, program promotion and networking. Specific activities include:
- Maintain an AgrAbility information web site
- Promote AgrAbility at health fairs, field days, trade shows, and state fairs
- Develop and conduct educational workshops
- Identify individuals needing on-site technical assistance
- Organize youth and service-oriented organizations to provide non-technical, on-site volunteer assistance
Langston University’s Center for Outreach Programs Small Farmer Outreach Training and Technical Assistance Project
Langston University, in cooperation with the U. S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) provides free assistance to small and underserved farmers, ranchers, and other rural residents in 22 counties in the State of Oklahoma. Otherwise known as the 2501 Program of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990, or the 1990 Farm Bill, the Program encourages and assists members of small and underserved groups to own and operate farms and ranches and to participate in agricultural programs. Small and underserved farmers and ranchers are assisted to continue farming, and the rural economy is strengthened. Langston University believes it can play an active role in making differences in meeting the needs of small and underserved farmers, ranchers, and rural residents.
The Project staff provides technical assistance in establishing soil and water demonstration projects, pasture management, and in understanding and enhancing available natural resources. Langston University forms partnerships with interested groups and individuals and provides training in leadership, organization, and problem solving.
Areas of Assistance
Management and outreach specialists work directly with farmers to assist them in the following areas:
- Farm Planning
- Record keeping skills
- Farm management skills
- Farm marketing skills
- USDA loan and grant applications
- Alternative enterprises
- Natural resource management practices
Langston University will be involved with promoting AgrAbility at trade shows, field days, fairs, etc. In addition to helping identify individuals needing assistance, Langston University will also work with OCES to organize and develop volunteer assistance through youth and service organizations.
Statistics
The National Weather Service issues watches and warnings for hazardous winter weather events.
In Oklahoma, 1 in 4 of farmers and ranchers reported a disability.
Over 17,000 are limited in their ability to perform certain work-related tasks.
Nationally, 288,000 agricultural workers between the ages of 15 and 70 have a disability.
Daily, about 500 agricultural workers suffer lost-work-time injuries, and about 5% of these result in permanent impairment.
Oklahoma Assistive Technology Foundation (OkAT)
Oklahoma Assistive Technology Foundation (OkAT) is a non-profit arm of Oklahoma ABLE Tech and the AgrAbility Project. This non-profit corporation established by individuals with disabilities serves all ages across the state. OkAT uses ABLE Tech’s assistive technology expertise to bring the AgrAbility program to Oklahoma’s farmers/ranchers, their families, and their local communities. OkAT along with Oklahoma ABLE Tech will provide the link to identify home and equipment modifications and assist in the acquiring assistive technology tools.
Who is Oklahoma ABLE Tech?
The Assistive Technology project in our state, Oklahoma ABLE Tech, makes a vital difference in the lives of people with disabilities. Assistive Technology (AT) is a device or servicer that helps a person with a disability do something they otherwise could not do. Able Tech enables access to the appropriate devices and works with our state to ensure that information technology is accessible. Without AT people with disabilities would fall further on the wrong side of the digital divide.
With the passage of the Assistive Technology Act of 1988 and 1998, Congress recognized the important role that assistive technology plays in maximizing the independence of individuals with impairments. Every state has an assistive technology project funded through the National Institute on Disability Rehabilitation Research of the United States Department of Education.
ABLE Tech increases access to assistive technology for people of all ages and disabilities. ABLE Tech provides information, referral, training, technical assistance, and advocacy and works to improve laws and policies providing access to assistive technology.
As an AgrAbility Partner
AgrAbility promotes the combination of agricultural know-how with disability expertise to provide agricultural workers with disabilities the specialized services they need to safely accommodate their disabilities in everyday farm or ranch operations. To remain actively engaged in agricultural-related work, these rural families must overcome significant barriers—isolation from rehabilitation technology, lack of information by disabled individuals, excessive distance to travel to obtain adequate services, and lack of financial resources.
The mechanism to address these barriers is through an on-farm site assessment of the farmer/rancher as well as the farmstead. OkAT is responsible for the on-farm site assessment which is conducted by the On-Farm Assistive Technology Specialist for the Oklahoma AgrAbility project. This assessment will help determine the farm family’s assistive technology needs; make recommendations for adapting and modifying the farm/home environment; assist in identifying funding sources for equipment modifications; and provide follow-up to the farm families to ensure implementation of the recommendations.
This newsletter was supported in part by USDA-CSREES grant award number 2002-41590-01370.