Cooperative Extension AgrAbility program awarded $189,000
University of Maine Cooperative Extension in Orono and its nonprofit partners Goodwill Industries of Northern New England and Alpha One received $189,000 of the $4 million awarded by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) through the AgrAbility Program.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture awarded funds to 21 land-grant universities to assist farmers and ranchers living with a disability to continue being active in agriculture.
In addition to farmers, Maine clients are fishermen, forestry workers, veterans, immigrants and migrant workers, says Lani Carlson, project coordinator of the University of Maine Cooperative Extension Maine AgrAbility Program.
“Since the project formed [in Maine] in 2010, it has provided technical information to more than 200 farmers and conducted on-site assessments and provided recommendations for 92 others whose agricultural businesses include dairies, Christmas tree farms, vegetable stands, livestock operations and hay sales,” she says.
The purpose, says Carlson, is to help people with chronic health impairments, post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury, as well as aging-related issues, work safely and more productively.
Since initial funding in 1991, NIFA has awarded AgrAbility grants to more than 35 states resulting in on-farm assistance to more than 12,000 farmers, while educating thousands of professionals on how to accommodate those with disabilities in agriculture.
NIFA director Sonny Ramaswamy said during October — Disability Employment Awareness Month — it’s appropriate to recognize the importance of assistive technology and safety techniques in agriculture.
“These grants enable farmers and ranchers with disabilities to keep working — safely and productively — and keeping farmers and ranchers at work ensures thriving rural communities and economies,” said Ramaswamy.
In fiscal year 2015, NIFA’s AgrAbility Program provided support for three new and 17 established state-level projects eligible for continuation. AgrAbility grantees must partner with nonprofit disability organizations that address the specialized needs of these American farmers and ranchers.
Funded projects deliver educational programs that: advance farmers’ and health professionals’ knowledge in the area of farm safety; adapt new technologies for farmers with disabilities; provide direct service to agricultural workers; and encourage networking to facilitate information sharing with individuals and organizations not employed by AgrAbility.
The National AgrAbility Project, directed by Purdue University in partnership with Goodwill Industries, the Arthritis Foundation, Colorado State University and the University of Illinois, received $521,457 in fiscal year 2015 funding.
In addition to UMaine Extension, the following universities and their nonprofit partners also received funding:
- University of California, Davis, California, Ability Tools; $189,000
- Colorado State University Extension, Fort Collins, Colorado, Goodwill Industries Denver; $189,000
- University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, Fort Valley State University and Shepherd Center Rehabilitation Hospital; $189,000
- Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas, Southeast Kansas Center for Independent Living and Assistive Technology for Kansans state program; $189,000
- University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, Kentucky State University, Kentucky Office of Vocational Rehabilitation, Cardinal Hill Rehabilitation Hospital, and Growing Veterans Project; $189,000
- University of Illinois Cooperative Extension, Urbana, Illinois, Macon Resources, Illinois Assistive Technology Program, and Community Health Partnership of Illinois; $180,000
- Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, Easter Seals of Michigan; $189,000
- University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri, Lincoln University Cooperative Extension and the Brain Injury Association of Missouri; $189,000
- University of Nebraska Extension, Lincoln, Nebraska, Easter Seals Nebraska; $189,000
- North Carolina A&T State University, Greensboro, North Carolina, Disability Resource Centers for Independent Living; $177,993
- The Ohio State University Extension, Columbus, Ohio, Easter Seals Tristate; $189,000
- The Pennsylvania State University (State College, Penn.) in partnership with United Cerebral Palsy of Central Pennsylvania; $189,000
- Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, Hoosier Uplands Economic Development Corporation and Arthritis Foundation — Heartland Region; $180,000
- University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, Tennessee State University and East Tennessee Technology Access Center; $189,000
- Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, College Station, Texas, Prairie View A&M University and Easter Seals; $189,000
- Virginia Tech Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Virginia, Easter Seals UCP of NC and Virginia; $189,000
- Utah State University, Logan, Utah, New Frontiers for Families, Vocational Rehabilitation, and the Utah Assistive Technology Program; $189,000
- West Virginia University Extension Services, Morgantown, West Virginia, West Virginia State University, West Virginia University Assistive Technology Systems, and Arc of the Mid Ohio Valley; $189,000
- University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, Easter Seals Wisconsin; $189,000
Contact: Beth Staples, 207.581.3777