Agrability
Over 9,000 farm families in Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine are affected by a disability. According to national AgrAbility statistics, 32% of those acquired their disability as a result of a farm-related accident, 24% due to non-farm related accidents and 44% due to other disabling conditions.
The types of disabilities that agricultural producers experience include: back injuries, arthritis, vision impairments, neuromuscular impairments, hearing loss, spinal cord injuries, cognitive impairments, amputations, mental illness, and others.
Agriculture in Northern New England
In addition to dairy farming. New England agricultural workers participate in a diversity of occupations ranging from blueberry and potato farming, logging, orchard management, maple syrup production, and Christmas tree farming. New Englanders also produce vegetables, poultry, herbs, llamas, emus, replacement heifers, and a host of many more specialty agricultural operations.
The traditional family farm operation is highly dependent upon the family working together for a common goal of taking care of the land, livestock, buildings, and crops. Regardless of who acquires the disability on the farm or in the forest, the entire family and farm operation is impacted. AgrAbility is able to assist families in overcoming disability challenges.
Services Available at No Cost to Farm Families Include:
- Assessing agricultural tasks and providing guidance to accommodate for the disability.
- Evaluating (or "reviewing") agricultural worksites and equipment and making suggestion or modifications.
- Researching commercially available products to enable farm tasks to be completed easier.
- Identifying ways to prevent secondary injury and illnesses.
- Coordinating needed information, community resources and referrals to services.
- Coordinating peer support and other resource networks.
- Conducting training and workshops for rehabilitation and agricultural professionals.
More on the national AgrAbility Project
Download news feature on Agrability Maine
Overview
The Northern New England AgrAbility Project is a partnership with Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine Cooperative and Alpha One, a non profit disability organization. Cooperative Extension and Alpha One are committed to supporting farm families affected by a disability to be productive and successful in agriculture.
