Carlson Speaks with MPBN About Maine AgrAbility Project
Lani Carlson, Maine AgrAbility Project coordinator with the University of Maine Cooperative Extension, spoke with the Maine Public Broadcasting Network for a report about the program that assists farmers, loggers and fishermen with disabilities and chronic illnesses so they may remain active in production agriculture. Maine is one of 23 states that takes part in the USDA-funded program, according to the report. In Maine, AgrAbility is a nonprofit partnership between UMaine Extension, Goodwill Industries of Northern New England and Alpha One. Carlson said the partners perform an on-site consultation and then determine an action plan. “So we essentially do that farmer-speak, where we come out and we understand agriculture, and then the other partners understand the body functions,” she said. “So they understand what implementations need to be taken to keep the farmer farming.”