DePoy's Passion Fuels Research About Aging Maine Farmers (ME UCEDD)

October 12, 2018

Thumbnail of Liz and horse

As a professor of interdisciplinary disability studies and social work at the University of Maine, Elizabeth DePoy's passion for farming and interest in the farming community led to her current research project, "Aging Maine Farmers: Investigation of Their Aspirations, Needs and Ingenuity." The study aims to discover the needs and problem-solving strategies of independent farmers and how services could be made more relevant and utilized as farmers "age in place" or remain in their home and work as long as they choose.

"I'm interested in this because it's my life," said DePoy. "I live it, I love it - and it has become a passion for me."

From her previous research with Richard Brzozowski of UMaine's Cooperative Extension, DePoy found that there are many services for disabled farmers but these services are underutilized.

"Farmers don't talk about how they are 'disabled' - they talk about not being able to do things," explained DePoy. "They don't say, 'I have a spinal cord injury' or 'I have glaucoma' - they say, 'I can't get up to the hayloft' or 'I can't see like I used to'."

The Maine AgrAbility project has produced a series of videos from DePoy's Chapter Tree Farm in Newburgh, Maine. These videos, featuring DePoy and her husband, Stephen Gilson, share background on the farmers, their farm, some of the chores they've had to modify and information about the different types of assistive tools and modified work routines they use to continue to work successfully and safely on their farm.

DePoy is a perfect example of aging farmers' resilience and ingenuity. At 68 years old, she has no plans to retire from academic life or from running her horse farm. She talks about others in the community who not only want to keep farming - but need to keep farming - and how they rely on one another for advice and support.

As she sits on her deck, overlooking the pasture, she gazes out on her farm and says, "It is nice here... Nothing like it."

And with her ingenuity and passion, she plans to age in place as she chooses.

(Adapted from DePoy's Passion Fuels Research About Aging Maine Farmers. UMaine Research IMPACT Monthly Newsletter, August 6, 2018)

Stephen Gilson, Elizabeth DePoy and Richard Brzozowski