Since 2002 the California AgrAbility Project, also known as CalAgrAbility, has been working with the agricultural community through a partnership between the University of California at Davis—Farm Safety Project and the California Superior Easter Seals. CalAgrAbility serves the state of California, with roughly 155,959 square miles, approximately 87,500 farms, and one million migrant/seasonal workers.

More than 20,000 disabling injuries occur on California farms annually, many resulting in permanent disabilities. There are over 350 commodities produced in California, with some parts of the state maintaining production year round. That diverse agricultural production, coupled with year round operations, translates into many different ways of possibly sustaining an injury or disability from farming. CalAgrAbility project staff assist farmers and farmworkers by designing and customizing assistance plans based on the specific farming operation, job tasks, disability type, and individual needs of the farmer, farmworker or family member. This plan includes recommendations for worksite modifications, peer support involvement, farm job restructuring, farm safety, equipment purchase or modification, referrals to funding sources, and/or assistance with worker compensation or other health and employment issues .

Nearly 75% of the consumer base for CalAgrAbility are Spanish speaking farmworkers. In addition, CalAgrAbility has worked with Mixtecas farmworkers who speak neither Spanish nor English but communicate through their native language of Mixtec. CalAgrAbility has also recognized a recent growth in new farmer populations of Hmong and Punjabi from Southeast Asia. Almost 100% of CalAgrAbility clients are uninsured or underinsured, whether they are farm owners or farmworkers.

With such a diverse agricultural client base, paired with a complicated health care system, CalAgrAbility has identified one of its most important outreach efforts—health literacy. CalAgrAbility actively supports farmers and farmworkers with health literacy challenges by providing translations, coordinating referrals and assistance to community health care programs, stress management resources, and other health service agencies. CalAgrAbility produces bilingual materials in both Spanish and English to accommodate their diverse client populous. Materials include individual reports, brochures, a monthly newsletter, and the project’s website.

The California AgrAbility Project has been a leader in the forefront of forging relationships with other organizations that share a common mission of helping rural people in California. CalAgrAbility has partnered with organizations such as the Arthritis Foundation, Access Adventures, Muir Foundation, and California Centers for Independent Living to further strengthen and expand their outreach efforts into rural California.