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AgriAbility Marks 25 Years

Kelly Marshall

AgrAbility2016 marks 25 of service to people with disabilities for AgrAbility.  The organization, first authorized in the 1990 farm bill and funded in 1991, helps people in agriculture overcome their various needs and work productively in the industry.  It has grown from eight state projects to 20 this year, as well as six previously funded affiliate projects.  Each project is a collaboration with a land-grant university and one or more disability services organizations.

To honor the 25 year mark the National AgrAbility Project at Purdue University will be hosting several activities through 2016.

“The vision of AgrAbility is to enhance quality of life for farmers, ranchers and other agricultural workers with disabilities,” said Paul Jones, manager of National AgrAbility Project. “Through education and assistance, AgrAbility helps to eliminate – or at least minimize – obstacles that inhibit success in production agriculture or agriculture-related occupations.”

Highlights for the year include: 

* A “25 Years, 25 Stories” initiative will highlight 25 stories of how AgrAbility has improved the lives of people around the country.

* The annual AgrAbility National Training Workshop will highlight the program’s accomplishments and feature special speakers, including Temple Grandin. The workshop is scheduled for April 11-14 in Fort Collins, Colorado.

* AgrAbility will host a 25th anniversary celebration July 12 in conjunction with the annual conference of the Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America July 10-14 in Arlington, Virginia. 

* An “AgrAbility Day” is planned for the annual National Farm Safety and Health Week in September.

“The primary limiting factor for these individuals is not the lack of technology but rather the attitudes of those around them that create unnecessary barriers to success,” said Bill Field, professor agricultural and biological engineering at Purdue. “AgrAbility seeks to remove those barriers through its emphasis on what is possible rather than what is not.”

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