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Promoting Success in Agriculture for People with Disabilities and Their Families

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Spring 2006, Vol. 6, No. 3

Table of Contents at bottom PDF Version

Client Story: Donnie McQuinn
AgrAbility Helps Kentucky Farmer Continue His Fresh Market Business

Just meeting Donnie McQuinn lets you know he is passionate about growing fruits and vegetables. Since 1980, he has been harvesting a variety of berries and vegetables on one and a half acres of his fourteen-acre Kentucky farm. His can-do attitude makes him successful as a farmer and in life.

As tenant farmers in Wolfe County, Donnie’s parents wanted more for their eight children. Donnie, born with a birth defect that later was diagnosed as cerebral palsy, graduated from Morehead College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English. He taught English for thirty-three years in Wolfe County. While teaching, he completed his Master’s degree and obtained an additional graduate teaching certificate. He has been happily married to his wife, Patricia, for thirty years.

For Donnie, teaching wasn’t enough. He wanted to return to his farming roots. He began his operation by raising blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, watermelons, banana cantaloupes, and an assortment of garden vegetables. Donnie grows and harvests the produce, then sells it at his roadside stand and the local farmer’s market. He is certified with the Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program (FMNP), associated with the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, commonly known as WIC.

Donnie and one full-time farmworker complete the day-to-day farm tasks. In peak seasons, he hires an additional five workers to meet work demands. During the growing season, Donnie picks in the morning and sells his produce in the afternoons. What he is unable to sell, he freezes for a local business that makes jams and jellies throughout the year. The county agriculture extension agent, Ted Johnson, fostered this business relationship. Donnie prides himself on being able to sell all that he harvests without having any waste.

His steep hillside farm and the labor-intensive operation present unique challenges. Donnie’s left leg is slightly shorter than his right, which affects his ability to walk and causes him to stumble frequently. His disability, coupled with the steep terrain of his farm, also makes it difficult for him to do some farm tasks, such as spraying, spreading straw, and picking berries on the trellis system. Aging, arthritis, and back problems compound his ability to perform these activities.

Ted knew that Donnie was having difficulty with mobility around the farm. The riding garden lawnmower he was using to get around was not safe. “Donnie’s condition was deteriorating and farming was becoming more difficult with the rough terrain and laborious tasks.” Ted continues, “My job was to find this farmer some help. John (Hancock) and the Kentucky AgrAbility program was the help he needed.”

In October 2005, John visited Donnie on his farm and they discussed some of the difficulties he was having with his work tasks. Donnie knew the riding lawnmower was unsafe. “One time the transmission belt (on the lawnmower) broke and it about turned over in the pond,” Donnie recalled. “With the hillside, I knew that a turnover was possible and had too many close calls.”

John assessed Donnie’s needs and determined a Kubota utility vehicle (UV) as the best option. “I knew a little about [the UV], but had never used one before,” Donnie said. After John’s visit, AgrAbility connected Donnie with Jeff Ritchie, a Kentucky Vocational Rehabilitation counselor. Jeff agreed that a UV would help Donnie continue farming and funded the vehicle. Jeff, John, and Ted worked with the local Kubota dealership owners, Ted and Kay Holbrook, to get a discount on the UV. “It just isn’t one person that made this happen for Donnie… county extension, Kentucky Vocational Rehabilitation, and AgrAbility… kept Donnie in business,” Ted remarked.

December rolled around, and one morning John and Ted surprised Donnie by unloading the UV. Donnie went right to work using it. With the UV’s dump bed and other features, he is able to spray his plants, spread straw, haul firewood, and pick trellised berries. “It is so accessible because of the bench seat … I use it for all my farm chores. I didn’t think I needed it until I got it,” Donnie said.

Prior to AgrAbility’s involvement, Ted helped Donnie set up a motorized over-head irrigation system that brought water to his produce from the pond at the base of the hill. Given his eagerness to expand his business and his new UV, Donnie has set up a test plot of blueberries. “The Kubota improved Donnie’s productivity and increased his sales,” Ted said.

Donnie is grateful for AgrAbility and stated that AgrAbility is knowledgeable about assessing the needs of farmers. There is nothing like a positive attitude to tackle adversity. Donnie McQuinn has just that attitude about life and farming. “I will keep going as long as I can… I will be out there in the berries until I have to pull myself along inch by inch.”

Focus – Fresh Market and Direct Marketing Strategies