AgrAbility, in partnership with Easterseals Crossroads, hosted the Agricultural Assistive Technology Expo…a hands-on training session designed to showcase how assistive technology can empower individuals with disabilities to succeed in farming.
Indiana Agrability Project Manager Chuck Baldwin talks about the goals of the Expo. “The Primary goal of this AT expo is to expose occupational therapy students, some farmers, some vocational rehabilitation personal, and others to what it takes to help a farmer impacted by disability to be able to continue farming, to do it successfully, to do it safely, and to improve their quality of life.”
Participants explored a range of technologies that can make everyday farming tasks easier, less physically demanding, and in some cases, even possible for those with disabilities. From modified tools to adaptive machinery, the expo offered demonstrations and real-world applications of assistive tech in the field.
Lisa Becker with EasterSeals Crossroads says the best part about the expo is allowing participants the opportunity to identify barriers in the everyday tasks of most farmers. “We get a group of people that maybe have never even really been on a farm, maybe not have been to a 4-H program before, and this is the first time their around animals or any of the farm machinery. All of these students or OT professionals that are here today, we want to take them through the process of what does it take to be a farmer…whether it’s a grain farmer or a livestock farmer or one of the niche farming areas. Understand what their daily tasks might be and how those might change throughout the year. Also, understand what might happen in different scenarios if someone has a disability.”
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, farming ranks among the top industries for work-related injuries. In fact, more than 200,000 farmers, ranchers, and agricultural workers sustain injuries each year that impact their ability to work.
“Vocational Rehab and Agrability and the OT skill set all coming together in order to support the farmers.” That’s Andrew Rivera Associate Professor of Occupational Therapy at Huntington University. “The more educated we become through these experiential opportunities like this can just make us better equipped and it’s really awesome to be part of this distinct niche opportunity that we have here at Huntington.”
Occupational Therapy Doctoral student Nija Patel says her eyes are open towards struggles farmers with disabilities can come across. “I don’t have much exposure to the rural healthcare side so coming here today I learned so much about how farmers utilize equipment in their every day, day-to-day life, how much technology they have to learn and how much labor it takes just to use the equipment.”
Events like this aim to change the narrative by improving access, promoting independence, and helping more people thrive in agriculture, regardless of physical ability.
For more information about assistive technology in farming, visit AgrAbility.org.
See the Video here:
