West Virginia AgrAbility - Success Stories
- Partnerships, Persistence Pay off for Vegetable Farmer
- Vision Blooms into Reality for AgrAbility Client
- Innovation Trumps Limitations for Barbour County Farmer
- Agriculture: a Field of Possibilities for the Hearing and Visually Impaired
Partnerships, Persistence Pay off for Vegetable Farmer
September 1, 2006
Meandering along the Ohio River, the roads in Washington, West Virginia might lead wanderers to a prominent sign, shaped into a barn silhouette, reading 'Butcher Family Farm.' The sign alone might warrant an impromptu pull-over for travelers hungry for fresh produce.
The roadside stand offers not only the predictable gamut of summer vegetables, but also some of the most perfect round 'Candy' onions you've ever seen, purple 'Islander' sweet peppers, heirloom tomatoes and more. Depending on the time of year, you might find fresh strawberries, blackberries, flowering mums, hanging baskets, or buses full of schoolchildren paying a visit to Butcher Farm's chickens, goats, sheep and llamas. The man behind this 163 acre operation, which also wholesales its fresh vegetables, is Rob Butcher, the grandson of the original owner of Butcher Farm. But he's not alone.
Rob, like other members of his immediate family, has facioscapularhumeral muscular dystrophy. Its progression has dramatically impacted his leg strength in the last ten years, and consequently his mobility. He and his wife reside on the family farm. "I am very fortunate that my family is so supportive," he says. The farm belongs to his parents, and the whole family works to keep it in production.
In 1999, Rob worked with the West Virginia Division of Rehabilitation Services, who helped him purchase a platform lift for his John Deere 5410. Much like a simplified elevator, the lift allows him to stand at ground level and be lifted, via hydraulics, up to the level of the tractor seat. "I honestly cannot imagine life without it now," he says, obviously grateful both to DRS and to the National AgrAbility Project, which helped put him in touch with the company who designed the lift. Since then, he has enrolled to receive Social Security Disability benefits, which supplement his farm income. This was not an easy option. "That was one of the hardest things I have had to face," he says. "I am the typical, stubborn, full-of-pride farmer."
When it comes to pride, accepting help when he needed it wasn't the only obstacle. "I believe that if I quit using my legs, I will lose them for life. The physical therapist told me four years ago that he could not explain how I had the physical strength to even walk. And here I am still trying to walk." Watching him hustle from task to task on foot or in his Jazzy Powerchair to give directions to his team of local teenage workers, Rob's mobility is impressive by anyone's standards. Recently, though, he admits to feeling "unstable and wobbly" when walking around the packing shed or transferring from chair to chair.
Concerned about navigating the farm as his M.D. progressed, Rob e-mailed West Virginia AgrAbility in the early winter months of 2006. Since then, Inetta Fluharty, Field Operations Manager for WV AgrAbility, has made several visits to Butcher Farm to conduct safety assessments, and to help him evaluate mobility options.
"Rob was concerned that in the future he might need assistance getting up out of the tractor seat and rising to standing position to allow him to utilize the lift," says Fluharty, who works with the Northern West Virginia Center for Independent Living (NWVCIL). She recommended some additional hand holds for the tractor, as well as something called a Standing Chair, which enables the user to sit or stand with the legs and back supported. According to The Standing Company, which manufactures the Standing Chair, 'passively standing' improves circulation, reduces swelling, and prevents bone loss, all of which can be problems with long term wheelchair use. Such a chair would allow Rob to get into a standing position all by himself, simply by pulling a lever on the chair.
Fluharty also loaned and temporarily installed an Ag Cam, a camera that allows individuals to see what's going on behind them at ground level without turning around and potentially exacerbating neck and back problems. This is potentially useful because Rob's particular type of M.D. results in a weakening of the shoulder muscles. Being able to use the Ag Cam for free allowed Rob a trial period before deciding to invest in the technology himself. AgrAbility makes similar devices available for free loan to farmers with physical limitations across the state
With one of Rob's electric power chairs designated solely for farm use (and the other for the house), he navigates the gravel roads circumnavigating the fields almost as easily he does the concrete floor of the packing shed. Getting in between rows of vegetables, however, is a different story, and Rob regrets that his power chair can get stuck in mud or high grass easier than he'd like.
Together, Fluharty and Butcher are looking into some options that will help him move from a sitting to a standing position as well as access his crop rows to inspect for pests, assess quality and monitor ripeness. Fluharty, who has worked with West Virginia AgrAbility since it began in 2001, is a West Virginia farmer herself, and understands how important these tasks can be for a produce farmer. "There are some really neat options available for all-terrain power chairs these days. I'm helping find the right one for Rob's situation."
One option is the Ventrac Freedom 300, which she brought to Butcher Farm in July to demonstrate. The unit is a gas-powered machine that travels up to 15 miles per hour and features a bed and ramp just large enough to accommodate a wheelchair. This eliminates the need to transfer between seats, as a manual or electric chair can be wheeled right up the ramp and locked in without any assistance from others. With thicker tires and a more rugged design, the vehicle is ideal for traveling in between rows. Rob hopes to have his friend (who happens to own a welding shop) use the Ventrac's design as template for a custom-made device that provides slightly more leg room.
With a large part of his day during the busy season spent standing and sorting tomatoes and other vegetables on the small conveyor in the packing shed, Inetta suggested that, at some point, he mount paddings along the metal edge of grading station that he sometimes leans on for support. This would also give his wrists a place to rest as he packed produce.
Rob's wife Ina does everything she can to assist Rob when he needs it, either in the house or on the farm, where she also works. He worries, however, about the toll it takes on her back. "We often joke about what we are going to do when we are 80. I am still waiting on the Acme Company that the coyote used in the road-runner cartoons to come install the rocket on my back to help me up."
It might take some degree of imagination to see a rocket when looking at Rob's support network of family, friends, and AgrAbility. But it comes pretty close.
Vision Blooms into Reality for AgrAbility Client
May 10, 2006
Nestled in the Appalachian Mountains, Butterfly Gardens is a sight to behold with sprawling flats of annual bedding plants, unique varieties of tomato seedlings, pots of hardy perennials, and colorful hanging baskets. While the success of this rural business is a part of the story, knowing the story of Becky Conrad's determination to open Butterfly Gardens is a testament of entrepreneurial spirit.
"Almost everybody who comes to Butterfly Gardens buys a whole flat, and last week during my delivery I had two ladies fighting over a hanging basket before I could unload it at the store," said Becky Conrad, owner of Butterfly Gardens. However, business was not always booming for Becky.
Becky began losing her sight at the age of nine, when she was diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP), a condition were photoreceptor cells gradually degenerate and die, translating into a progressive vision loss and eventual blindness. By the time she finished high school, she could no longer see to walk and worked with the West Virginia Division of Rehabilitation Services (WVDRS) to receive training for an occupation that would accommodate her blindness and provide an adequate income.
Like many rural communities, Braxton County where Becky grew up did not necessarily present unlimited options for employment, and WVDRS did not support self-employment at the time. After being trained as a medical transcriptionist, Becky quickly realized it wasn't for her. "I didn't like it," she says. "And I couldn't get to any of the jobs without transportation."
Becky couldn't deny her passion for plants and working outdoors. "I've loved plants since I was a little girl." Her life-long passion for plants has flourished into her own business over the past few years, but it couldn't have been possible without AgrAbility.
AgrAbility works with individuals in production agriculture who have acquired disabilities - whether they're hurt on or off the farm - by making modifications to the farm-site, adapting equipment, and incorporating home accessibility options.
Congress established the AgrAbility Project in the 1990 Farm Bill to help people with disabilities engaged in production agriculture continue to farm and live successfully and independently in their chosen communities. As a consumer-driven USDA-Cooperative State, Research, Education, and Extension Service funded program that provides vital education, assistance, and support to farmers and farm workers with disabilities and/or their family members with disabilities.
In 2001, Becky gave AgrAbility a call. "She could have just plugged along with the work as a transcriptionist, but her love of gardening was there all along-and I saw it as my job to help make her vision for a greenhouse into a reality," says Inetta Fluharty, Field Operations Manager for West Virginia AgrAbility.
Finding ways to better accommodate Becky's low vision was a key issue to tackle in order to engage her in something she was truly passionate about. "It took a long time to convince WVDRS that self-employment was a meaningful and significant option for adults with disabilities," Inetta explains.
After working with AgrAbility, Becky was able to get a computer with a screen-reader and a Voice-It-All, a hand-held device that identifies colors as well as monetary bill denominations funded through WVDRS.
In addition to working with Becky to obtain funding through WVDRS, AgrAbility made several farm visits to evaluate options for easier watering, labeling, and marketing of Becky's products.
A low-interest loan from the Farm Service Agency helped her dig a well in order to have adequate irrigation water. Though Becky could easily tell a customer where the tomatoes are, she might not know exactly which flat contains the unique variety of Persimmon Orange. When Becky used adhesive labels from a Braille label-maker, she soon found them no match for the dirt and constant moisture of such a humid environment of the greenhouse. Inetta worked with Becky to solve the problem by using thin sheets of copper and a slate and stylist to form custom-made Braille labels that can then be inserted into the soil directly or tied with wire around the edge of each flat of plants.
On a recent visit, Inetta brought Becky a wireless alert system to notify Becky of approaching customers for trial use. By mounting the sensor at the entrance of the driveway and taking the console with her, Becky knows when someone is coming so she can attend to her customers. This allows her flexibility, as well as some peace of mind that the new customers don't know to call out when approaching. "I have a hard time telling people I'm blind. Most people see Amos (her service dog) and understand, but I appreciate any little thing that will help them get the picture."
As it turns out, Becky's passion for working outdoors has other benefits. In recent years, as her RP has progressed, she's lost a significant degree of light perception. This means that her body has a difficult time sensing daylight, and thus to establish a normal sleep cycle. Days spent largely indoors, even to write, often result in insomnia and migraines.
Being in the greenhouse most of the day, however, is like intensive light therapy for her body, helping her sleep at night and reducing headaches. Turning away from her initial WVDRS training to pursue her dream, it seems, was as much bodily instinct as it was a professional passion.
AgrAbility promotes agricultural know-how and disability expertise to provide farmers and farm workers with disabilities the specialized services they need to safely accommodate their disabilities in everyday production agriculture operations. Projects have provided information and assistance annually to nearly 1,000 - allowing them to continue their agricultural endeavors and remain vital community members.
Innovation Trumps Limitations for Barbour County Farmer
Taking the daily insulin shots to treat his diabetes is just one of the many things Moody Collette crosses off his to-do list in a given day. Though the calves have been sold for the year and the hay is under cover, Moody's got a lot more to do on his 271 acre farm in Barbour County than watch the brightly colored autumn leaves through the living room window. Today's main project involves work on his self-designed sled for hauling round bales and feeders with his four wheeler, a safer alternative than using his spike bale lifter to haul hay on his sometimes steep hillsides. Though his herd size is relatively small, his pastures are large, and over the years Collette has come to refer to his 4-wheeler as "the legs he couldn't live without". It makes fast work of what might otherwise be a risky tractor job.
It's no wonder that Collette refuses to put safety on the back burner. Since 1969, when he survived a car accident but suffered a broken back and fractured skull that left him partially paralyzed, he has walked with leg braces. This didn't stop him from loading coal trucks for twenty-three years, or from building two houses and remodeling his own. That is, until a work site accident three years ago further injured his left leg. Feeling is limited in both legs and his active lifestyle means that the metal braces tend to rub against his knees and feet. This makes monitoring for sores even more important than it is for most diabetics. More than half of all lower-limb amputations in the United States occur in persons with diabetes, largely due to decreased circulation and nerve damage.
According to a Health and Human Resources report, "The Burden of Diabetes in West Virginia," approximately 106,852 West Virginian adults have been diagnosed with diabetes, with an additional 53,000 going undiagnosed. This ranks West Virginia second in prevalence among the 52 states and territories, and means that roughly one-third of those with diabetes are not aware of it. In a way, having learned at an early age that healthy limbs were a blessing not to be taken for granted has helped Collette take control of his diabetes. Loving to hunt and be active outdoors doesn't hurt either.
Visit Collette and you quickly admire his ability to adapt his surroundings to his needs. He modifies ordinary equipment to take advantage of what he can do. And he can do a lot. Even driving a tractor's not a problem if you've welded a hand-clutch to make shifting gears easier. The ingenuity doesn't end there, however. Collette intentionally built his high tensile wire fence along a logging road, so it was easy to access for repairs on his 4-wheeler. Think it might be hard to climb to the elevated storage areas of the barn with braces, or to make roof repairs on sheds? Not so if you've devised a pulley system for the bucket of your tractor, enabling you to raise yourself up and down to whatever height you need. "It sounds strange, but I sometimes think I do my best work on my butt," Collette says with a smile.
Needless to say, being partially paralyzed does present some difficulties on the farm. The main challenges, according to Collette, include keeping his balance when carrying things. Any activity that takes two hands, like chain-sawing, shoveling, or pitch-forking, can compromise his balance unless he can lean on a nearby wall or doorway. With things to lean on not typically abundant in pastures, feeding, fencing and other activities can present obstacles. His sons, William Keith and Jacob Lee, neither of whom still live on the farm, are the indispensable muscle during busy parts of the season, helping to carry posts, string wire and make the hay that will sustain his cow-calf operation the next year. Difficulty in finding quality labor outside the family is an obstacle Collette shares with many other West Virginia farmers.
When Moody Collette made his first call to West Virginia AgrAbility early in the fall of 2005, he was obviously someone with experience to share as much as a person looking for answers. Always open to new ideas, he welcomed AgrAbility Field Operations Manager, Inetta Fluharty, to his farm in early November. Fluharty was understandably impressed with both his determination and his ideas, but made a few suggestions with safety and injury prevention in mind.
"Extra steps for your older-model Massey Ferguson wouldn't hurt," Fluharty said, "and neither would some mirrors on swinging arms to keep you from having to twist around to see what's going on behind you". She also explained that the lack of cell phone reception in his area didn't have to mean that Collette couldn't call his wife from the field in the event of an emergency. Communication devices like walkie-talkies can be pre-programmed to automatically dial certain numbers, which could be a life-saver in any number of instances. "There really are so many tools out there," Fluharty said, "that no one can really use inconvenience as an excuse for being unsafe anymore". Ask any West Virginia farmer, and most will agree-no one can think of many obstacles that they would use as an excuse for giving up farm life, either.
Agriculture: a Field of Possibilities for the
Hearing and Visually Impaired
NEWS (October 1, 2005)
Four Students Compete in Forestry Skills on Deaf Awareness Week
If a tree falls in a forest and no one there can hear it, does it make a sound? Philosophical implications aside, students at the West Virginia School for the Deaf and Blind proved in a recent forestry competition that some limitations are moot points. On September 29th, during what is nationally known as Deaf Awareness Week, four students from the School for the Deaf & Blind in Romney competed in the forestry competition at the Eighty-second Annual Agriculture Career Development Events at West Virginia University.
In a five hour event at the WVU Forest near Cooper's Rock, the team scored higher than six other high school teams at general knowledge, tree and equipment identification and measuring techniques. Each year, high school and middle school FFA teams from across the state meet in Morgantown to compete in one or more of fifteen separate competitions, including entomology, floriculture, livestock, dairy and forestry, among others.
The agriculture program at WVSD&B has roots early in the school's history. Even just sixty years ago, the school was still operating its own dairy farm, growing vegetables and canning produce while also managing a bakery. The students' labor in these enterprises allowed the school to feed itself throughout the year. While most vestiges of such self-sufficiency have faded in the years since, students still use the barn and operate a greenhouse on the property.
Edgar Leatherman, the vocational agriculture teacher at the school since 1983, says he expanded the school's horticulture curriculum to serve the interests of more students. Now, he says, students are interested in production agriculture as well as landscaping and greenhouse production. In his classes, students can learn how to safely operate a tractor, and develop welding skills that could be applicable in a number of fields. Almost every student who takes his courses is involved in FFA, which allows them to compete in the annual Career Development Events and network with other youth in the state and around the nation.
One of the hardest parts of accommodating agricultural education for students who are deaf, he notes, is language. Take the word 'marigold,' for instance-"I can either spell it out in sign language or I can make up a special sign for it just to make things easier. But when these kids move on and go out to a landscaping job in the real world, that special sign doesn't exist any more." While American Sign Language (ASL) names for some plant and animal species might be formally recognized here in West Virginia, it might be just enough different elsewhere to make communication difficult. "Like the difference between the way I speak and a New Yorker speaks-it's just enough to confuse you sometimes".
Nevertheless, students in Leatherman's agriculture classes seem to excel in the 'real world'. A 2000 study found that among the graduates who had completed the school's horticulture program between 1984 and 1997, 55% were currently employed in a horticulture-related field . One of the program's graduates now works for the West Virginia Department of Agriculture as an Environmental Microbiologist. Another, Damron Walton, was featured in a September 14th article in the Charleston Gazette, where he spoke about his job as a landscaper and stonemason. "My students tend to be recognized as leaders," Leatherman admits.
The West Virginia AgrAbility Project, a partnership between WVU Safety and Health Extension, the West Virginia Assistive Technology System, and the Northern West Virginia Center for Independent Living, works with farmers and agricultural workers who have disabilities or chronic health conditions.
If you are involved in agriculture and have a visual, hearing, or other physical limitation, call 800-841-8436 to learn about assistive technologies or other modifications which may help make farm work easier.
Leatherman, E.A. (2000). Benefits of the West Virginia School for the Deaf Horticulture Program for Graduates 1984-1997. Unpublished Master's Thesis, West Virginia University, Morgantown.
