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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

In 2002, nearly one in five Kentucky jobs were farm or farm-related. In 2004, overall farm product sales rose to more than $4.1 billion in Kentucky, a 19% increase from the previous year. It is the sixth poorest state in the country, with more than 17% of the population living below the poverty line and more than 20% of residents reporting a disability. ⁸ For all of these reasons, Kentucky AgrAbility services are critical.

Since 1993, Kentucky AgrAbility has served nearly 700 Kentuckians pursuing an independent agricultural lifestyle. The University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service has partnered with Cardinal Hill Rehabilitation Healthcare (an Easter Seals affiliate) since the project began. In more than a decade of service, Kentucky AgrAbility has seen trends emerge in the state, including a more diversified agricultural economy as farmers find alternatives to tobacco and more farmers from minority backgrounds succeed in agriculture.

Kentucky farmers are getting older, and younger farmers work off farm jobs in addition to part-time agricultural operations. Kentucky AgrAbility has seen a predominance of amputations and spinal cord injuries, with many of these injuries taking place off the farm.

The project has a successful history of collaborating with outside partners to expand its impact. Kentucky AgrAbility is a primary partner on a recent grant with the University of Kentucky Human Development Institute and the Department of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine. The project (awarded by the Rehabilitation Services Administration) is a five-year training grant in rehabilitation technology aimed at resident physicians in Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine at the University of Kentucky and the University of Louisville. Kentucky AgrAbility will be involved in providing field experiences for resident physicians to demonstrate agriculture-related rehabilitation technology. In addition, Kentucky AgrAbility will assist in developing content for online training targeted to physicians.

Kentucky AgrAbility strives to provide individualized services on the farm and in the home. The Kentucky Office of Vocational Rehabilitation serves many of the clients. Collaboration with this state agency leads to positive AgrAbility outcomes, including increased use of agriculture-related rehabilitation technology.

In addition to services on the farm, the project also has a strong national presence at both the National Farm Machinery Show and the North American Livestock Exposition with nearly half a million visitors from around the country each year. Attendance at these events leads to referrals for Kentucky and other AgrAbility projects around the nation.