Easter Seals Disability Services

Easter Seals Virginia

Easter Seals Virginia provides exceptional services to ensure that all people with disabilities or special needs and their families have equal opportunities to live, learn, work and play in their communities.

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In partnership with Virginia Cooperative Extension, the AgrAbility Virginia Project provides direct education and on-site assessment to farmers and farm workers with disabilities as well as their family members. Offering information on modification/adaptation of farm equipment and operations, farmstead accessibility, and assistive technology, AgrAbility Virginia staff seeks to provide the information and connection to resources that will allow farmers to continue their rural lifestyle. AgrAbility Virginia also offers a Peer Support Network that matches people in Virginia who have had similar experiences. AgrAbility Virginia is a statewide program.

AGRABILITY CONCERNS: LOOKING OUT FOR THE FARMER

With all the talk, these days, of the need to stimulate the economy to create jobs and to rehabilitate the financial markets so that money can flow back into the economy sustain businesses and homes, it interesting that there isn’t a whole lot of talk about the role of the agriculture community in all of this. It is inarguable that the state of agricultural production is a keystone to prosperity in this nation. Without sustained, quality, and safe production and easy availability of food, the whole economic structure cannot be maintained. And family farmers in particular are profoundly and disproportionately affected by a myriad of concerns that impact on different segments of the population, but are concentrated in their impact on farmers. Everything from credit availability, to fuel costs, to labor availability and costs, to sources of secondary income, to healthcare access and costs, to insurance availability and affordability, to the quality of education for their children, to access to U.S. and global markets, to the infrastructure of their rural communities, to the availability of broadband services are all significant factors determining the viability and quality of life of the farming way of life. And the viability and quality of life of the farmer affects what is produced and what is available to the rest of us. So as you follow and participate in the outcome of the work of our Congressional Representatives, as they sort out a course for strengthening our economic system, don’t forget the farmers. We all need to lookout for what happens to them, for what happens to them eventually impacts on all of us. To quote Carolyn Mugar, Executive Director of Farm Aid, an advocacy organization for family famers, “we need to be proactive [in supporting the family farmer]. We cannot afford to lose even one more American farmer”.

A Message from AgrAbility Program Coordinator

AgrAbility Virginia Coordinator Kirk Balin

Farmers are used to shifting weather conditions and price fluctuations for their crops and livestock. It comes with the territory. But the consequences of climate changes and the “added value” market forces that are entirely new to agriculture have introduced shifts in choices that were not anticipated by many just ten years ago.

Dramatic climate shifts, whether due to natural cycles or due to human induced global warming, will determine what a farmer can produce in the years ahead. What has been the norm for preceding generations may no longer be feasible or profitable with changing climates, different seasonal temperature variations, etc. Anticipating these shifts and planning for new options is a risky and anxious business.

The options of the types of crops and livestock being raised are also being determined by what the market is demanding and for what the purpose of the product is. The sudden surge of interest in crops (corn and soybean in particular) as a source of fuel has significantly redefined the value of these crops (see the link above on the pros/cons of this new value added part of these crops). With this added-value to these crops, markets have shifted, production has shifted, and the consequences of raising these crops have shifted. The uncertainties of meeting these newly added values could have dramatic effects on farmers’ lives and their plans for the future.

Other value-added options are determining what many established small farmers and livestock growers and newly entering producers are doing. This is especially true in states like Virginia, where small, family farms are the norm. Specialty crops and meat products, such as organic produce, cut-flowers, goat meat/milk, organic beef and poultry, herbs, etc., are attempting to serve local markets and demands. This becomes a new option from the more traditional commodities and markets, but it also comes with fewer assurances of success and with increased risk, because they are ventures down an unexplored road.

I mention these factors of relatively new shifting options for farmers and ranchers because they affect everyone involved in agriculture, but especially affect our AgrAbility clients. AgrAbility clients are dealing with a multitude of shifts in their vocational lives and their personal lives because of the newly acquired disability or the ongoing disability that continues to influence their lives.

In some ways, the shifting options being determined by climate changes and value added factors are providing opportunities for AgrAbility clients to make changes in their plans that will accommodate their disabilities in positive ways. Nevertheless, the shifting options also create new challenges and risks for what the future holds.

Even more reason, AgrAbility has an important role to play as a resource and advocate for these farmers and ranchers.

Kirk Ballin, Program Coordinator

Client Stories

AgrAbility Farmer Fred

Fred, a cattle farmer from rural Virginia was referred to AgrAbility in 2003 by his cousin who works for DRS. At that time, Fred had undergone back surgery for nerve damage and was restricted by his physician to lifting less than 25 pounds. With over 100 head of beef cattle and 150 acres to manage, his medical limitations presented some challenges. Prior to our initial assessment, the client had identified two major concerns: (1) hooking up his PTO shaft from the baler to the tractor, and (2) manually operating a head gate when working with his herd.

An assessment was completed and the goals identified by the team were:

To increase the client’s ability to complete farm tasks independently by using technology and assistive devices, so as to minimize the amount of physical force.
To investigate communication devices that will provide a measure of safety while in remote areas of the farm.
To provide information related to farming with a back injury and to educate the client about proper body mechanics with the goal to prevent secondary injuries.

Since the initial assessment, AgrAbility staff have shared information relating to the goals identified and concerns of the client through mailings, telephone conversations, and email. Types of materials shared include: Technology/AT Devices:Feed carts and lift tables (foot pedal/electric/air-hydraulic), Electric trailer motors to adjust the height of the trailer jack automatically, Floor cushioning mats for the cement-floored workshop Communication Devices: 2-way radios with large mileage ranges, capable of covering the farm entirely.
Medical literature: Farming with a back injury tip sheet Proper lifting techniques printout

Henry was referred to AgrAbility by Chris Bradshaw, District Conservationist Agent in Brunswick County. Henry is 78 years old and farms 300 acres on four different tracts, raising cattle. In his thirties, Henry lost his right hand in a corn picker, and now wears a prosthesis. He also has well-established arthritis in his hips and knees, and, in the course of working with AgrAbility, Henry had hip replacement surgery. In navigating his property from tract to tract to tend his cattle, etc., Henry has had to dismount from his truck to open five different gates. This repetitive activity was increasingly stressful, painful and time consuming. In partnership with the Department of Rehabilitative Services (counselor, Dolores Heisler, rehab engineer, Tom Rybak, and occupational therapist, John Allen), and additional assistance from a National Easter Seals Grant from Sodexo Inc. (leading provider of integrated food and facilities management services in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico), AgrAbility was able to arrange for Henry to install 5 drive-thru electric gates. These gates (see picture) don’t look like much, but are a series of dangling electrodes that discourage cattle, but allow a truck to drive thru without obstruction or the use of a remote. These gates have greatly improved Henry’s quality of life and his ability to work efficiently and safely.

Arthritis and Farming

Arthritis and Farming, by Robert “Bobby” Grisso, John Perumpral, and others is useful paper that provides information for farmers and professionals alike in understanding arthritis and its unique relationship with farming. Much of the material will also be of interest to others with or assisting those with Arthritis. The link to the paper is: http://filebox.vt.edu/users/rgrisso/Papers/Ext/Arthritis_FS.pdf

AgrAbility Virginia recives a $1,000 grant from Pioneer High-Bred. Press Release

Rural Rehab Partnership

AgrAbility Virginia strives to integrate its services into Virginia's rehabilitation and agricultural service delivery systems. Ongoing collaboration among the cooperating agencies has resulted in an increased emphasis on direct assistance for farmers and ranchers and a new name, the Rural Rehabilitation Partnership. Members of the Partnership include:

Virginia Tech Cooperative Extension (VCE)
Easter Seals Virginia (ESV)
Department of Rehabilitative Services (DRS)
Virginia Assistive Technology Partnership (VATS)
Woodrow Wilson Rehabilitation Center (WWRC)
Virginia Farm Bureau Safety (FB)
Centers for Independent Living (CIL's)
Virginia Disability Service Agencies

Growing involvement of local extension educators have increased the scope of on-farm assistance provided. Virginia AgrAbility's goal for farm visits is that, along with technical evaluation, the visits are also a more comprehensive screening of needs. The AgrAbility staff is increasingly able to call on skilled professionals from the Partner agencies to assist farmers and ranchers who call AgrAbility for assistance. Collaboration has also improved specialized education available to the staff of the participating agencies. AgrAbility staff offer individualized consulting support to DRS counselors on all agricultural cases and have initiated this web site to bring timely information to professionals and consumers.

The Rural Rehabilitation Partnership's vision is to increase Virginia's capacity to serve agricultural producers affected by disabilities through increased interagency cooperation

Rural Rehabilitation Update - On Monday, December 3, 2007 at Woodrow Wilson Rehab Center in Fishersville, VA, the Rural Rehab Partnership of AgrAbility Virginia met for its Annual Reconnection Meeting. The purpose of the meeting is for the different agencies and organizations that assist, advise and contribute resources for AgrAbility have an opportunity to check-in with the AgrAbility staff from Easter Seals Virginia and Virginia Tech. This Reconnection Meeting strengthens the Partnership and helps to identify what is working or not working, and how the work of AgrAbility can continue to better serve AgrAbility’s clients.

For mor information, please visit the AgrAbility Virginia website:

http://www.agrability.ext.vt.edu/

or the National AgrAbility website

http://www.agrabilityproject.org/

Contact us for more information about our AgrAbility Virginia Project.

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