Promoting Success in Agriculture for People with Disabilities
and Their Families
| Spring 2006, Vol. 6, No. 3 |
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Assistive Technology Notes
Accommodating a Disability on Fresh Market Farms
The ripe juicy watermelons are now too heavy for the farmer to pick and load for market. The farmer has difficulty climbing an orchard ladder, making it unsafe or impossible to harvest the fruits at the top of the trees. Reduced tolerance for sun and heat may make it hard to sit at a roadside stand or farmer’s market. A grower with a disability must consider such factors when deciding to operate a fresh market operation.
Purchasing labor saving devices or agriculture-related assistive technology may not be financially feasible or practical for a smaller operation. Rather than describe assistive equipment, this section will focus on finding alternative management strategies to handle the limitations imposed by a disability.
Review Labor Alternatives
A starting point is to consider management options for handling specific job tasks. Labor demands are significant for fruits and vegetables. A study from the University of Wisconsin Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems reviewed labor use on nineteen fresh market produce farms. Small market gardens (less than three acres) in the study averaged close to 2,000 hours of total labor per acre. Market farms (three to six acres) utilized around 1,000 hours per acre and those farms with six to twelve acres required 707 hours per acre. As expected, farm labor per acre fell to around 554 hours on the largest farms. 5
To review labor needs, farmers can start by making a list of the various job tasks involved with the operation. Then, they break those job tasks down by seasonal activities such as pre-planting, planting, growing, pre-harvest, harvest, and post-harvest. In addition to manual labor, farmers should include management activities, like marketing, recordkeeping, and purchasing, in the list.
Family members involved in the operation are generally a part of this labor review process. Other professionals, like an AgrAbility staff member or occupational therapist, may help assess the farmer’s ability for doing some tasks and suggest methods to restructure the task in order to accommodate the disability.
In considering labor resources, many farmers reassign tasks to family members or to hired labor as an option. If it is not possible to reassign tasks, a farmer can make changes in the production system to further reduce labor requirements.
Change Production Systems
Profitability is always a concern and the decision to change the production system must consider profit potential in addition to the investment cost. Some production system changes may be occurring in the industry that fit the scale of operations and consumer demand. For example, apple orchards are replacing standard size trees with semi-dwarf or dwarf varieties. Smaller trees are shorter, grown in narrower rows, and may require trellises. This reduces the labor required to harvest the fruit because of the reduced height and distance between trees. Another example is fall-bearing raspberries. The farmer mows off the old canes instead of hand pruning the old canes of summer bearing raspberries. This reduces physical labor to care for the plants and the fall fruits often bring a higher price at market.
The trend in smaller household size means that more consumers are looking for smaller produce or units of products. The farmer may also find it easier to accommodate a disability by handling smaller packages or containers. To meet market demand and accommodate a disability, the farmer may grow plant varieties that produce smaller fruits or vegetables. An example would be growing a cabbage variety that weighs one to three pounds at maturity, such as Gonzales or Columbia. 6 These varieties may be grown in narrow rows as well. If mobility devices such as a wheelchair or UV are used, crop row spacing needs to be wide enough to accommodate the equipment. This spacing may be greater than the seed provider’s recommendations.
Consider New Enterprises
If the goal is to stay in farming, the farmer may ask, “What else can I do with my farm?” There is an extensive list of alternative enterprises for small acreages. Remember to look at the market potential for new enterprise. A current “hot” niche may become a cold niche in a short time if too many producers get into the same market. Thorough investigation of financial data about an enterprise is important before investing in that enterprise. The Missouri Alternatives Center compiled a list of websites from university research centers that provide sources to investigate alternative enterprises. 7
Resources from state Extension systems, state departments of agriculture, and specific growers associations feature agricultural trends, new products, and marketing information.
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