Project Description:
The Texas AgrAbility Projects focus is on connecting, assisting, and educating agricultural producers, their family members, and employees with disabilities and chronic health conditions to stay engaged in production agriculture.
Agriculture work is considered one of the most dangerous occupations in the United States, with an estimated 50,000 disabled farmers and ranchers in Texas. Disabling conditions such as arthritis, amputation, back injuries, heart conditions, traumatic brain injury, and others impact a producer's ability to perform many of the day-to-day tasks necessary to their operations. These disabilities are often the result of a dangerous work environment where workers often toil in conditions that contribute to or increase the risk of health problems. For example, risks associated with farm equipment operation, handling of livestock, exposure to excessive vibration and motions, potential for increased falls, respiratory hazards, and exposure to extreme temperatures contribute to the overall risk for farmers, ranchers, employees, and family members. There is evidence to suggest that some disabling conditions may increase the risk for secondary injury if preventative steps are not taken. It is estimated that each year, a disabling injury related to work in agriculture occurs on one in every 117 farms. Physical disabilities not related to agriculture increase the rate to one disabling injury for every 24 Texas farms.
Overall Goals and Objectives
The Texas AgrAbility ACE program goal is to connect, assist, and empower agricultural producers, their family members, and employees with disabilities and chronic health conditions to stay engaged in production agriculture. The project does so by:
- Assisting service providers to better understand the unique needs of the agricultural producers as it relates to acquired disabilities and chronic illnesses through training and technical assistance.
- Connecting individuals with a disability to resources specific to their individual needs and to their type of agriculture operation.
- Empowering those who need our services to better navigate the many systems for acquiring disability services and resources, such as assistive technology, to help them in their efforts to remain in production agriculture.
Unusual Features
The Texas AgrAbility Project assists individuals to overcome barriers that might otherwise impair their ability to remain in production agriculture by providing:
- Education to individuals with disabilities and their families engaged in production agriculture, as well as service providers who work with them, to increase knowledge about accommodating disabilities, improving function, and avoiding secondary injuries.
- Consultative assistance such as individualized farm and ranch assessment, home environment assessment, financial business analysis, and technical assistance to farmers and ranchers with disabilities and/or chronic illnesses to increase the likelihood that these agriculture producers will remain in production agriculture
- Networking and marketing of the Texas AgrAbility Project to build the capacity to deliver services to the agricultural production employment field through networking and marketing activities with include the dissemination of information, and the identification of AgrAbility clients. Additionally, project staff will foster linkages to disability and health resources.
Expected Benefits
By adopting AgrAbility's recommendations, persons in the AgrAbility program will increase their ability to:
o Retain/maintain employment in chosen profession
o Manage their farm/ranch
o Complete chores
o Operate machinery
o Gain access to their worksite
Additional expected benefits include:
o General population awareness of employment options for individuals with disabilities in production agriculture
o Disabilities service providers awareness of employment options for individuals with disabilities in production agriculture
o Positive economic impact at the individual, community, and state levels.
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FY 2023:
Battle Ground to Breaking Ground - 46 participants
- 16 in Cohort 12
- 20 in cohort 13
- 1080 Contact Hours
Phase 1: BGBG Introduction to Agriculture Business Online Course: BGBG staff & partners recorded & posted workshop presentations into an online course including the following modules: Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Programs, Texas AgrAbility, Rural Business Ideas, Basic Business Planning, Funding Opportunities including USDA-Farm Service Agency, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Texas Dept. of Ag, Farm Credit, Farmer Veteran Coalition, Business planning technical assistance.
Additional Modules include: USDA programs for Farmers & Ranchers including sections in Navigating Farmers.gov, Introduction to COVID-19 Farmer Resources (Coronavirus Food Assistance Program, Crop Insurance, Farm Programs, Paycheck Protection Program, etc.) and Applying for COVID-19 Programs.
BGBG Introduction to Agriculture Business Bootcamps (BGBG ABB): BGBG staff and partners conducted 1 5-day bootcamp in 2022. Sessions included hands-on training in 1. Farm Safety & Food Safety 2. Business Planning & Business Management 3. Diversification & Marketing Strategies 4. Financial & Risk Management 5. Agriculture rehabilitation & vocational training opportunities for veterans 6. Land Management & Conservation Practices including natural resource management 7. Basic Vegetable Production & Row Crop Production 8. Basic Livestock Production 9. Alternative & Value- Added Agriculture Enterprises.
Battleground to Breaking Ground Mentor Training Program(MTP): MTP training guide, curriculum, application, expectation agreements, and mentee skills workbook was developed. The Mentor Training Program was launched and piloted. 7 Battleground to Breaking Ground Phase 1-3 graduates applied to Cohort 1 of the new MTP course. These participants provided consistent feedback through discussion questions and meeting with instructors. Participants completed weekly modules and training sessions including BGBG mentor expectations, mentorship best practices, adult education techniques, effective communication strategies, establishing mentee relationships, personal & mentee goal setting, on-farm liability and safety best practices, etc. 7 MTP C1 participants completed all requirements and became Certified BattleGround
to Breaking Ground Mentors. These certified mentors have conducted over 600 hands-on learning hours for Phase 3 participants and have been awarded $5,500 in mentor stipends for their efforts to date.
BattleGround to Breaking Ground Skills Training Program (STP): The BattleGround to Breaking Ground Program updated its curriculum, training guides, and application to meet the requirements and standards of the Department of Defense SkillBridge Program. Our BattleGround to Breaking Ground Program developed and piloted the BattleGround to Breaking Ground Skills Training Program which provides 500+ hours of hands-on and classroom training in agriculture business management and agriculture production which prepares active duty military members to transition successfully into self- employment in agriculture. The BattleGround to Breaking Ground Skills Training Program applied and has been approved as a registered DOD SkillBridge Program and is now listed on their website. 97 transitioning military members have requested information about the BattleGround to Breaking Ground Skills Training Program from 21 states and 4 countries. 44 have applied and 14 have been accepted.
BattleGround to Breaking Ground & Farmer Veteran Coalition Fellowship Stipends: Application, scoring criteria, award process, and evaluation measures were developed in partnership with Farmer Veteran Coalition. Applications were launched and 1 round of BattleGround to Breaking Ground & Farmer Veteran Coalition Fellowship Stipends were awarded to 24 participants in the amount of $24,000. Due to having 2 graduations per year, the BGBG team decided to have 2 rounds of stipend awards per year instead of only 1.
AgrAbility:
Texas AgrAbility educated 64 farmers and ranchers with disabilities and agriculture services providers through online webinars. Webinar topics include mental health resources for farmers and ranchers with disabilities, peer support, resources to assist farmers and ranchers with disabilities, and vocational rehabilitation funding for agriculture operations. Results show enhanced competencies of agriculture and healthcare professionals to provide services to agriculture producers with disabilities with attendees reporting a knowledge gain of 44% from pre to post and 4.7 out of 5 overall satisfaction.
Texas AgrAbility supported the training of a total farmer health coach and QPR instructor. The training will enable staff to provide suicide prevention training, secondary injury prevention education, and agriculture cultural competency to healthcare and agriculture service providers and laypeople.
An educational fact sheet is being developed to provide a list of resources for farmers and ranchers with disabilities. The fact sheet will be disseminated to AgrAbility clients and those who serve farmers and ranchers with disabilities. It will be available for free download from our website.
Two in-person trainings were provided to 34 healthcare students and 4 mentor training farmers to increase competencies for providing services to farmers and ranchers with disabilities. The hands-on training included conducting an agriculture worksite assessment, risk assessment, task modification recommendations, and assistive technology for agriculture operations.
Texas AgrAbility provided training to 30 AgrAbility staff members and stakeholders at the National Training Workshop regarding inter-state collaboration opportunities for military veterans and beginning farmers and ranchers.
Training materials and protocol were developed to educate Assessment Independent Contractors on providing on-farm assessments.
16 Occupational Therapists and rural health practitioners enrolled in the online course "Working with Farmers & Ranchers with Disabilities: An AgrAbility Resource for Occupational Therapy Practitioners". Eight participants completed the course for 6 credit hours through the Texas Occupational Therapy Association with a 38% knowledge gain.
Networking
Texas AgrAbility in collaboration with Texas A&M AgriLife Extension mental health agents piloted a peer network. With feedback from stakeholders, the network offers an opt-in map that includes information about agriculture operation, disability, and contact information. There are currently 3 individuals participating in the peer group map.
Texas AgrAbility piloted the Peer Group for Farmers and Ranchers and conducted quarterly peer group meetings. Meetings include a topic of interest and time for discussion and resource sharing amongst the members.
A Women in Agriculture interactive community of interest was launched and currently has 9 members. There are twenty-four posts in the group sharing resources and networking among members.
AgriSafe Network and the Southwest Center for Agriculture Safety and Health provided Texas AgrAbility with educational and marketing materials for the AgriStress Helpline. This mental health resource is available to farmers and ranchers in Texas and was promoted through an educational webinar for agriculture service providers. There were 12 individuals in attendance of which, 23% were military veterans, 23% were beginning farmer ranchers, 23% were agriculture service providers, and 15% were women in agriculture. An overall satisfaction of 5 out of 5 was reported with 100% of attendees reporting they were likely to utilize the helpline in the future.
Texas AgrAbility presented at five events and conferences for farmers, ranchers, and individuals with disabilities. Events include Mother Earth News Fair, Texas Farm Ranch & Wildlife Expo, Liberty County Veterans Resource Fair, AOTA, Wichita Falls Farm & Ranch Expo, and National Grape Growers Association Meeting.
The Texas AgrAbility Advisory committee expanded to include women in agriculture member Kay Bell from the Texas National Women in Agriculture Association. Additional added members also include staff from AgriSafe Network and the Southwest Center for Agriculture Safety and Health.
Direct Assistance
Individual consultative services were provided to 19 Texas AgrAbility clients. Services included referral to disability services resources and agriculture assistance programs. These services were also provided to 13 military veteran farmer participants through the BattleGround to Breaking Ground program.
7 onsite farm and ranch assessments were conducted for clients. Assessments include assistive technology recommendations, ergonomics and task modification, and farm safety considerations. Of those assessments 3 were referred to Vocational Rehabilitation for funding of agriculture assistive technology.
An online referral tool is being developed with input from Texas AgrAbility stakeholders to enhance referrals for farmers and ranchers with disabilities. Client information forms were made available through an easy-to-find tab on the Texas AgrAbility website. This will allow for real-time client intake and referral from partner organizations.
An in-kind donation of assistive technology was procured to enable clients to see in-person the benefits of agriculture assistive technology. The quick connecting PTO was made part of the educational display at events and taken to onsite assessments.
MARKETING
The Texas AgrAbility website was updated to a more user-friendly platform with easier menu navigation. Texas A&M AgriLife Extension will be providing a more updated version of the site to include accessibility features and mobile friendly navigation. An updated promotional brochure and display was created to include relevant imaging and services for women farmers and ranchers. 550 brochures and marketing materials were disseminated at promotional events and workshops.
Assistive tools and interactive elements were included as part of the project display at events. Tools include a quick connecting hitch, assistive tools, and ergonomically designed garden tools.
A client testimonial is being filmed to highlight the process of working with Texas AgrAbility through a farm or ranch assessment and assistive technology recommendations. The testimonial will include partnerships with the BattleGround to Breaking Ground program and supported services for farmers and ranchers with disabilities.
A yearly impact brief was developed to highlight impacts of the project in 2022 and disseminated to stakeholders through the 25 member advisory committee and made available for viewing and download from the website.
