Michigan AgrAbility—Farm Country’s Hidden Gem
It may not need to be said, but rural communities are quite different from their suburban and urban neighbors. Rural areas are the source of many raw materials like timber, fuel and food and produce necessities of life for everyone to use, regardless of where they live.
Agriculture and forestry are truly key components of any rural community and it’s the people working the land are the kingpin to producing the food that feeds us all!
Investments into a farm or forestry business are staggering and are accumulated over a lifetime of work---a work that has both defined and refined the individuals and families on the land.
What happens when these self-employed farmers or foresters are injured or face a life-changing illness? There is no employer sponsored health care---the farmer is both an employer and employee. These difficult situations add to the worry of how the farm and family’s source of income can continue while adapting to a new circumstance.
This is where Michigan AgrAbility can step in, walking alongside the family while helping them adjust to a new set of circumstances. A partnership between Michigan State University Extension and Easterseals MORC, AgrAbility identifies assistive technology that will help the farmer continue to work and earn a living.
A small staff provides services statewide, identifying needs during an farm visit where the farm, farmer, and medical/physical limitations are all evaluated. Recommendations and a possible plan of action are made based on the visit. A crop farmer may need a lift to get into a combine or large tractor. A livestock producer could need handling equipment that will simplify or make safer tasks such as moving cattle or treating them when they are ill or performing regular vaccinations. Mobility and moving easily from one part of the farm to another is often part of a plan that includes some sort of utility vehicle for hauling equipment, supplies and tools, and of course---the individual--- to different parts of the farm.
Assistive technology can be as simple as extra steps added to tractors for easier mounting, backup cameras in equipment, air ride seats for tractors, or quick attachments that reduce the number of times the operator climbs on and off equipment during field work.
Michigan Rehabilitation Services is often called upon to provide financial support for modifications that can keep a farmer working. Assistive Technology Professional and ag engineer for Michigan AgrAbility, Ned Stoller, acts as a liaison between the farmer and the agency to facilitate a positive experience in a complex and lengthy process of procuring assistance through a government agency.
Adam Ingrao is a beekeeper and founder of Heroes to Hives, a training program for military veterans and their families to become fully trained as beekeepers.
Ingrao was injured during his service time. He turned to beekeeping as therapy, and soon learned that it could also become a solid income source. His life’s work has become to share the passion and peace he has found through beekeeping with other veterans and families who share common experiences through military experiences and transitions into civilian life.
Lifting hives that can weigh one hundred pounds or more was one of Ingrao’s early injury related challenges. In fact, back impairments are common among beekeepers who have spent years lifting heavy hives while twisting to place them for transport or inspection. Stoller and Ingrao worked together to find and even develop their own models of hive lifters and other beekeeping tools. Michigan Rehabilitation Services stepped in to finance accommodations that make his work more manageable. His case was even opened a second time after a car accident and subsequent injury further complicated his situation.
AgrAbility client Kevin Klink raises registered Polled Herefords with his wife and two children. He raises more than four hundred acres of crops and pasture to feed his herd and sell. He and his wife also have full time off farm employment. As a family, they enjoy showing their cattle at shows and exhibitions in Michigan and Wisconsin. It’s the life they have always wanted to lead.
Looking back at the twenty plus years he has been farming, he knows he could have missed it all. At age 26, he had a massive heart attack leaving him with about 36% of normal heart function.
“I knew about Michigan AgrAbility for years but didn’t really feel like the guy who was disabled,” he said. “I don’t like to hear it; I don’t like to refer to myself that way. I never was looking for a handout, but I certainly didn’t anticipate the level of support and help I received through AgrAbility.”
After Stoller’s assessment and recommendations, Michigan Rehabilitation Services stepped in to help finance a portable cattle corral, grain bin lid openers, a mini skid loader for cleaning individual pens and drive through pasture gates.
“There is as much an emotional side as a physical side to the equipment that came through this process,” Klink said. “It has eased up things for my family and I don’t have to worry about them or myself falling and getting hurt while we are handling cattle. The OK corral system is portable, heavy duty, and works great wherever we need to be. I don’t have to worry about a cow crashing over lightweight gates and someone getting hurt.”
“Ned explains everything so completely, and all the items were delivered right here,” he added. “AgrAbility most definitely helps farmers farm.”