When many of us experience an injury, we can restrict our movements, go to the doctor, schedule surgery promptly. If we\u2019re overwhelmed by stress or experiencing depression, we can take a personal day. When we get older, we can retire or slow down to part-time work.<\/p>\n
But what do you do when you\u2019re a farmer and it\u2019s harvest or planting time? What do you do if there\u2019s no one to let the cows out to pasture? What do you do if you\u2019re 70, and your eyesight is failing but you\u2019re not ready to stop doing the work that you love?[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]This is where AgrAbility steps in. A national program, AgrAbility focuses on wellness, accessibility and safety for farmers. Here in Virginia, it is a collaboration between Virginia Tech, Virginia State University, Virginia Cooperative Extension and EasterSeals UCP. Through education, technology and rehabilitative services, two field coordinators cover the state and work directly with clients. Sometimes a problem can be solved with just a phone call, but, more often than not, the field staff will travel out to the farm to make an assessment and then use a tool kit of resources to find solutions.<\/p>\n
Often, those solutions are addressing disabled, aging, veteran or injured farmers with mobility issues. Clifton \u201cClif\u201d Slade, military veteran, retired extension agent and third-generation farmer, grows elephant garlic and sweet potato slips on the same land his parents and grandparents farmed. A range of injuries and two back surgeries resulted in him needing a foot-drop orthotic, making it hard to do common movements such as getting on and off his tractor.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have two tractors; one is a 320 John Deere, and if you look that up, it\u2019s way off the ground,\u201d says Slade. \u201cJoe Young [former AgrAbility Services Coordinator] made me steps to go up on my tractor; it made such a difference.\u201d AgrAbility also helped modify tools to make certain tasks easier. \u201cI\u2019m not real tall \u2014 just 6 feet \u2014 but the hand tools you buy out of the store, they\u2019re too short and I was injuring my back more,\u201d recalls Slade. AgrAbility connected Slade with the Department of Rehabilitative Services. \u201cThey made extensions on every one of my hand tools \u2014 I\u2019m an organic farmer and if you\u2019re organic you\u2019re constantly pulling weeds \u2014 those extensions, they\u2019re worth their weight in gold.\u201d[\/vc_column_text][divider line_type=”No Line”][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”956,953,958″ image_grid_loading=”default” layout=”3″ item_spacing=”default” gallery_style=”7″ load_in_animation=”none” img_size=”400×600″][vc_column_text]More recently, Slade was experiencing impaired vision due to glaucoma. \u201cThey found me a set of goggles to help me identify weeds, insects. They look like those virtual reality goggles for playing video games. They referred me to the VA Dept. of the Blind and Visually Impaired. Those goggles were $3,000, but the department got them for me for free \u2026 I went to the national AgrAbility conference and I used my goggles and it was wonderful \u2014 I stopped going to farming conferences because I couldn’t see the PowerPoints, the slides.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe’re the connector,\u201d says Leslie Lawrence, AgrAbility Community Outreach Coordinator. \u201cWe have a ton of resources and there are grants that we can recommend someone apply to get assistive technology. So the national program provides that network of people that maybe they’ve experienced a similar situation and they can say, hey, I used this at work, <\/em>and we can recommend that to the farmer.\u201d[\/vc_column_text][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”955,954″ image_grid_loading=”default” layout=”4″ item_spacing=”default” gallery_style=”7″ load_in_animation=”none”][vc_column_text]In addition to helping farmers with physical disabilities, AgrAbility serves those experiencing stress, anxiety and depression. The suicide rate among farmers in the U.S. is three and a half times higher than the national average, according to a study conducted by Penn State. Farmers face constant financial stress, and have to deal with an ever-changing climate, volatile markets and heavy workloads. Too, farming can be an isolating job and the stigma of the stoic farmer is still very present.<\/p>\n Noticing an increase in stress amongst dairy farmers due to fluctuating prices and a bad market, dairy extension agent Jeremy Daubert attended a training to help farmers cope with stress. \u201cMichigan State was one of the first ones to really come up with this curriculum [Managing Farm Stress] that was specific to farmers. They made it available, and they really pushed it to Cooperative Extensions across the country.\u201d Having taken the training, Daubert was then connected to AgrAbility and now works as one of two Field Coordinators.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s actually a hotline that you can call. It’s a mental health and crisis hotline specific to farmers,\u201d says Lawrence. \u201cSo the person answering the phone has a unique understanding of the challenges of farming.\u201d[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]One of the challenges AgrAbility faces is simply getting the word out to farmers. The program tables at conferences such as the Virginia Association for Biological Farming, has informational material at extension offices, and, more recently, has partnered with doctors\u2019 offices and occupational therapists. More often, though, a farmer is referred by another farmer, friend or relative.<\/p>\n \u201cI referred a farmer last year that had knee issues, but he had to get his crop [peanuts] in first,\u201d says Slade. \u201cBarry, in Charles City County, he grew strawberries and had mobility issues. They outfitted a golf cart, they cut out the center of the cart so he could harvest directly from the cart.\u201d<\/p>\n These innovations allow farmers to keep doing what they love, safely, and to not feel limited by age, illness, or disability. \u201cMy 70th birthday was September 21st,\u201d says Slade. \u201cMy children, my grandchildren, my two great-grandchildren, took me out for dinner in Richmond. I told them, I\u2019m going to farm until the day I die. And if I\u2019m missing one day, and you find me out in the field, know that I was doing what I love. \u2026 It\u2019s my passion and I found a way to make it profitable, and I really don\u2019t know how I\u2019d be getting along without AgrAbility.\u201d[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]\n [vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” column_margin=”default” column_direction=”default” column_direction_tablet=”default” column_direction_phone=”default” bg_color=”#efefef” scene_position=”center” top_padding=”53″ constrain_group_1=”yes” bottom_padding=”53″ left_padding_desktop=”50″ constrain_group_2=”yes” right_padding_desktop=”50″ text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” row_border_radius=”15px” row_border_radius_applies=”bg” overflow=”visible” advanced_gradient_angle=”0″ overlay_strength=”0.3″ gradient_direction=”left_to_right” shape_divider_position=”bottom” bg_image_animation=”none” gradient_type=”default” shape_type=””][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_tablet=”inherit” column_padding_phone=”inherit”…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":957,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31,33],"tags":[66,65,5],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nDo you know someone who could benefit from this program? Contact: AgrAbilityVA@vt.edu | (540) 231-4582<\/em><\/h5>\n
To learn more about Slade Farms, visit: sladefarms.com<\/em><\/h5>\n
This article first appeared in our 2023 Winter Issue<\/em><\/h6>\n[\/vc_column_text][image_with_animation image_url=”959″ image_size=”full” animation_type=”entrance” animation=”None” animation_movement_type=”transform_y” hover_animation=”none” alignment=”” border_radius=”none” box_shadow=”none” image_loading=”default” max_width=”100%” max_width_mobile=”default”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"