This year AgrAbility celebrates a quarter-century of assisting farmers who have become injured or disabled to remain viable agricultural producers, along with their families. In an era when fewer farmers provide the food and materials needed for clothing, shelter and renewable fuel, AgrAbility helps farmers continue in their chosen vocation for the good of everyone.

 

Congress approved the AgrAbility program in 1990, led by Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin (retired) with a coalition of other Congressional leaders. The program received its initial funding in 1991 and began delivering services in 1992. The AgrAbility mission, as its 2016 Annual Report (www.agrability.org) says, is “to enhance quality of life for farmers, ranchers and other agricultural workers with disabilities.”

Dr. Sonny Ramaswamy, director of the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, observed, “AgrAbility has led the way to enhancing economic success and well-being for farmers, ranchers, other agricultural workers and their families … in spite of disabling conditions … to contribute to American agriculture.”

During its first year USDA funded demonstration programs in eight states, along with a National AgrAbility Project (NAP) to offer technical assistance to the state projects, nationwide training opportunities, data collection and evaluation of impact. Eventually, the number of federally funded state and regional projects grew to 23, but served 25 states because some states undertook joint efforts. Due to recent federal funding reductions, there are currently 20 such projects. The next farm bill will determine if AgrAbility continues and to what extent federal funding will support it.

Purdue University successfully won competitive grant applications to administer the NAP for most of the past 25 years and the University of Wisconsin-Madison administered it for an eight-year period. State and regional projects, which are funded separately at the federal level, are administered through state university land-grant institutions’ extension programs. Each project is required to have at least one nonprofit disability services partner.

The Purdue NAP has a long history of working with various national nonprofit disability organizations to leverage program impact. Currently, Goodwill Industries and the Assoc. of Programs for Rural Independent Living partner with NAP. Past partners include Easterseals and the Arthritis Foundation. State AgrAbility programs also depend on various partners to aid farmers with disabilities and to pay for assistive devices, like prostheses and lifts to enable persons onto tractors and implements when they cannot climb.

Moreover, the state projects provide support group meetings, on-farm consultations with injured farmers and their families and aid with acquiring rehabilitation funding.

While most highly agricultural states have AgrAbility projects, 30 do not have AgrAbility projects at this time. Nevertheless, professionals and consumers from these state programs participate in NAP training, national conferences, publicity and many ancillary services. People residing in currently federally unfunded states can contact NAP for information about available services.

Has AgrAbility achieved what it set out to accomplish? Clients and their families enthusiastically say “Yes.” For example, Afghanistan combat veteran Michael Trost, who lost his right thumb and was shot four times in his legs in 2012, participates in Tennessee AgrAbility.

The 2016 NAP 25-year summary indicates one of his damaged legs had to be removed below the knee; its big toe was used to replace his lost thumb. Now, he and his wife raise horses, donkeys, alpacas, chickens, vegetables and hops for brewing beer on their East Tennessee farm. Trost is happy with his progress.

Testimonies by the 1,300 clients who receive AgrAbility services annually are highly positive, but they don’t compare the outcomes of service recipients with people who don’t participate in AgrAbility. Ongoing evaluation efforts, led by Colorado State University professor Dr. Robert Fetsch, compare a treatment group with a no-treatment comparison group.

 

Quality of life ratings on the McGill Quality of Life (QOL) survey by 199 AgrAbility clients increased by 28 percent, according to a 2017 AgrAbility Harvest publication. Comparatively, QOL evaluations of 97 comparison group subjects declined by 4 percent.

Another measure, the Independent Living and Working instrument, showed that scores increased 29 percent for AgrAbility recipients, while the no-treatment comparison group improved 8 percent. Fetsch observed: “USDA is rightfully focusing in justifying its program expenses. AgrAbility works!”

On a personal note, I know several farmers and families who participate, or have participated, in AgrAbility programs. The injured participants acquired assistive devices to continue their farming operations, along with counseling to aid their emotional “handling” of injuries. Most importantly, they and their families regained hope.

 

Prospects for the future of AgrAbility funding by the federal government are unclear. As I write this in late April 2017, the USDA budget for the upcoming few years is unknown and awaits Congressional debate and approval. I know AgrAbility is highly worthy of continuation.

Interested people can check out the AgrAbility Webinar Series at www.agrability.org/online-training. Those seeking information about local, state, regional or the National AgrAbility Program services can visit www.agrability. org or call 800-825-4264. (I am a member of the Advisory Board of the National AgrAbility Program; I receive no salary.) The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of Farm World. Dr. Mike Rosmann is a psychologist and farmer in western Iowa. Readers may contact him at mike@agbehavioralhealth.com