Progress 08/01/23 to 07/31/24

Outputs
Target Audience:Illinois AgrAbility exists to serve farmers, veteran farmers, and farmworkers across the state of Illinois who are living with a disability, illness, or other chronic disease. For many individuals, the presence of a disability or chronic health condition can jeopardize their agricultural futures. Yet, with some assistance, agricultural producers and workers with disabilities can safely and effectively continue to earn their livelihoods in production agriculture and participate fully in rural community life. Illinois AgrAbility provides services to these audiences including: Identifying farmers, veterans or farmworkers with disabilities and/or chronic diseases and referring them to appropriate resources. Conducting FREE onsite farm assessments to identify barriers to complete essential everyday tasks in the agricultural workplace. Recommending safe equipment or devices, efficient work practices and other effective solutions to overcome limitations. Providing educational opportunities and informational resources on a variety of topics through workshops, conferences, seminars, and online programs. Referring clients to other service providers for potential assistance (e.g., counseling, educational, financial, occupational, rehabilitative) specific to the client's needs. Through educational, informational, and promotional efforts, Illinois AgrAbility is working to reach our three target audiences (farmers, veteran farmworkers, and farm workers). These efforts include: Educational efforts included several virtual opportunities for farmers and their families, Extension staff, agricultural businesses, stakeholders, and anyone interested in learning more. Illinois AgrAbility hosted a virtual Chronic Pain Self-Management course that lasted 6 weeks and served 11 people around the state. IA led a virtual Spring webinar series surrounding important agricultural topics including 'Mental Health in Ag', 'Injury in Ag', and 'Farmworkers in Ag'. This series reached 30 people via webinar. Educational resource guides were developed in the areas of tractor and machinery safety, fire safety, and ATV/UTV safety. Hosting informational booths at events, networking with potential clients, partners, and healthcare organizations, and giving presentations at events where our target audiences are present. Farm Progress Show held in Decatur, IL. Illinois AgrAbility hosted the Health and Safety Tent which brought in over 1,000 farmers, farm families, veteran farmers, and agricultural business men and women from around the nation to participate in free health screenings, safety demonstrations, and more. Illinois Farm Bureau Annual Meeting in Chicago, IL, which brought in 100 farmers, farm bureau members, and stakeholders from across the state to promote AgrAbility. Everything Local' Conference held in Springfield, IL, which brought in 75 growers and stakeholders across the state to learn about AgrAbility. Annual Farmer Veteran Coalition Stakeholders Meeting where 25 farmer veterans and stakeholders learned about the Illinois AgrAbility program. Southern IL Fruit & Vegetable School workshop reaching 25 growers and farmers from southern Illinois Annie's Project presentations reaching 30 women in agriculture across the state. Farmer Wellness Day workshop reaching 42 nursing students in Illinois who were learning about agricultural programs and resources for farmers with injury or disability. IA presented at the National AgrAbility Training Workshop in Atlanta, GA on the topic of our ambassador program. 25 AgrAbility staff, farmers, veterans, and stakeholders attended the workshop. Unit Master Gardener/Naturalist Meeting presentation reaching 20 Master Gardeners and Naturalists from Bond, Jefferson, Marion, Clinton, & Washington counties Student Occupational Therapy Lab guest presenter on Illinois AgrAbility, reaching 15 students attending North Central College in Chicago from across the nation. Panel for Supportive Resources for Farmer Clients reaching 50 students from the SIU Law School to learn about programs and resources that might help their farmer clients Hosted two AgrAbility Advisory Board meetings consisting of 15 stakeholders and staff from across the state Presented at an Illinois County Director's meeting for 30 Extension staff to educate them about AgrAbility and ambassador program opportunity Promotional efforts ranged from local to statewide as Illinois AgrAbility worked to spread awareness about Illinois AgrAbility. Implemented a 3-month promotional campaign via Illinois Farm Bureau and Illinois Farmer Today that spanned digital, paper, and radio platforms. Print Results: 140,000 reach, 211,400 readership, Radio: 403,180 listeners Social: 204,025 impressions, 1,197 clicks, 0.59% CTR Illinois AgrAbility was interviewed for a 90-second piece on WAND TV in Central Illinois. The interview highlighted program resources, educational opportunities, and how the program works. Changes/Problems:The main challenge Illinois AgrAbility experienced in the past year was engaging farmworkers in direct services and education. In Illinois, we estimate there are 30,000 migrant and settled farmworkers that participate in agricultural work annually. Farmworkers work for low wages, do not benefit from social benefits, and have limited literacy. Their warranted distrust of organizations create barriers to serving this vulnerable group. To address these known barriers, we partner with Community Health Partnerships of Illinois (CHP), a federally qualified health clinic that serves migrant, settled, and H2A farmworkers in the state. However, serving farmworkers has been slow and challenging due to massive turnover at CHP and their existing workload and commitments. With reduced staff and capacity, maintaining CHP activities and initiatives has been an organizational priority. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Chronic Pain/Disease Self-Management Courses:The IA program coordinator spent this past year getting trained and certified to lead self-management classes through the Self-Management Resource Center. IA has now co-led two classes, one in Chronic Disease Self-Management and one is Chronic Pain Self-Management. Both of these classes were offered virtually to those either dealing with symptoms or caretakeing for those suffering from chronic pain or disease. Advertisement for these classes focused on the farming community and each class allowed a maximum of 12 participants. These classes are six-week, highly participatory programs that build participants' confidence in their ability to manage their health and maintain active and fulfilling lives. Topics include but are not limited to appropriate exercise for maintaining and improving strength and endurance, balancing activity with rest, tools for overcoming worst-case thinking, how our minds affect pain and how we can use our minds to lessen pain, negative emotions, healthy eating, and more. These classes are being offered and provided by IA free of charge in an effort to promote proactiveness with an individual's heath so that they can continue to farm safely and comfortably, and ultimately limit injury or disability. National Training Workshop 2024:Illinois AgrAbility presented at the National AgrAbility Training Workshop in Atlanta, GA on the topic of our ambassador program. 25 AgrAbility staff, farmers, veterans, and stakeholders attended the workshop. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Ambassador Program-Illinois AgrAbility utilizes ambassadors to help identify potential clients in their own communities and make them aware of AgrAbility and what the program offers. The staff with AgrAbility can't physically be everywhere across the state to identify potential clients, so by empowering ambassadors across the state, AgrAbility can reach more people. IA chose to offer this this volunteer opportunity to our fellow Illinois Extension staff as a compliment to their existing roles in Extension across the state. Ambassadors will SERVE as volunteer advocates for the Illinois AgrAbility program while they IDENTIFY and refer potential clients to Illinois AgrAbility. They will help PROMOTE AgrAbility and build awareness within their current Extension work. Ambassadors get to decide how much time and energy they want to give to the ambassador role. There may be times of the year when their Extension outreach is busier than others and they choose to not serve, identify, and promote Illinois AgrAbility as much and vice versa. These Extension staff were encouraged to be mindful of AgrAbility's audience (farmers, migrant farm workers, and veterans who farm) and aim to promote with that audience to save them time and energy. Currently IA has 11 volunteer ambassadors covering 22 counties in Illinois. We hope to continue expanding this program to reach more counties covered by ambassadors in year three of our grant. Newsletter:Illinois AgrAbility created and sent out quarterly e-newsletters to our Advisory Board, staff, stakeholders, and clients. As people engage with the AgrAbiliity program in Illinois, they will have the opportunity to sign up for our project's quarterly newsletter. This newsletter consists of project highlights, client success stories, educational resources, partner recognition, and event opportunities. It is sent out digitally via email and can be mailed hard copy as requested. This newsletter aids in ensuring that Illinois AgrAbility is kept in the forefront of people's minds as they continue working in agriculture, whether they can benefit from AgrAbility themselves or they know someone who can. Each newsletter is sent to approximately 120 people involved in Illinois AgrAbility four times a year. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Illinois AgrAbility will focus its Year 3 program initiatives on the following four priority areas: Direct Assistance, Education, Networking, and Marketing. Specific objectives for each priority area are listed below. Direct Assistance During the past year, we have had the capacity to build on technical assistance that Illinois AgrAbility (IA) has been capable of providing in the past thanks, in part, to a dedicated team of experts who are able to provide recommendations to IA clients. Craig Wadsworth is a rehabilitation engineer with the Illinois Assistive Technology Program, one of our non-profit partner organizations. Mr. Wadsworth has been working with IA for the past ten years. He also has a contract with the Illinois Department of Rehabilitation Services that supports the cost of his time and expenses when assisting farm people who qualify for DRS services. Community Health Partnership of Illinois's Outreach Coordinators will provide direct services to referrals to the IA client service managers to farmworkers with disabilities in Illinois. Haley Jones, project coordinator, will assist the client service manager in providing direct assistance. The project coordinator will field calls and emails from potential clients and referrals, connect potential clients with a client service manager, and assist in administering the evaluations (McGill Quality of Life, etc.). Direct services will include on-farm consultation; providing requested materials or information by phone, mail or email; and linking farmers with disabilities to resources and service organizations that may assist them in meeting their needs. Examples include connecting clients with organizations that offer prosthesis that is durable enough for farm work, financial assistance, counseling, peer counseling which connects new clients with former clients who have similar disabilities or financial management. Scarce resources combined with an aging farm population and the subsequent increase in disabilities creates the need for technical and financial assistance not adequately addressed by other health, farm, and government service providers. Education In Year 3, educational activities will continue to focus on the following audiences: farmers with disabilities, veteran farmers with disabilities, migrant farmworkers with disabilities, health professionals, and agricultural stakeholders. Education targeted towards farmers and their families with disabilities, with special focus on our three target populations (farmers with disabilities, veteran farmers with disabilities, migrant farmworkers) will focus on increasing awareness on how assistive technology can help them in their agricultural work and managing their disability, in addition to programs that work to prevent disabilities. We will lead courses in Chronic Pain Self-Management and Chronic Disease Self-Management. These are six-week, highly participatory programs that builds participants' confidence in their ability to manage their health and maintain active and fulfilling lives (LeFort, Gray-Donald, Rowat, & Jeans, 1998). Topics covered in the programs include appropriate use of medications; techniques to deal with problems such as frustration, fatigue, isolation, and poor sleep; and appropriate exercise for maintaining and improving strength, flexibility, and endurance. Illinois Extension educators have received the training and certification to lead these programs both virtually and in person. Illinois professionals that serve the target population lack awareness and knowledge of the specialized needs of farmers with disabilities and the resources that are available through IA. Education targeted towards health professionals, including physical and occupational therapists, rural medical students, primary care providers, and social workers, will increase understanding of the unique challenges and hazards of agriculture and special modifications and considerations for farmers with disabilities. Education targeted towards agricultural stakeholders, including Extension educators, Farm Bureau staff, IA Ambassadors, and Farm Service Agency staff, will increase knowledge about services and resources that IA can provide and will better prepare these individuals and their respective organizations to refer their farmer members with disabilities to IA. These educational programs will be offered in all four years of the project. Networking Continuing to expand and strengthening collaborations with various organizations with interest and resources that would benefit farm people with disabilities is essential. This is also critical in the long-term sustainability of the program that can provide both financial and in-kind resources. We have identified several opportunities to network throughout Illinois.Illinois AgrAbility will retain/expand the Illinois Ambassador program. The Illinois AgrAbility Ambassador program is unique to Illinois and historically has been important to increasing awareness of the program. In the past, AgrAbility Ambassadors were recruited from Farm Service Agency (FSA) representatives. In Year 3 we will ramp up efforts to recruit Illinois AgrAbility Ambassadors from Illinois Extension, with less emphasis on FSA. Illinois Extension Educators serve specific county regions within Illinois and are well connected to communities. In Year 3 we will recruit 50 ambassadors from 50 counties in Illinois. These ambassadors could be Community Health Partnership of Illinois (CHP) or Illinois Extension employees. Marketing Marketing efforts are critical to increasing awareness of Illinois AgrAbility, maintaining support for the program, and recruiting clients. Year 3 will include an increase in marketing initiatives.In Year 2, IA released a quarterly newsletter highlighting program successes, upcoming events, partnership spotlights, etc. This newsletter was sent to 102 IA partners, clients, Advisory Board members, Extension staff, and stakeholders, 4 times in Year 2. In Year 3, we will continue the distribution of the quarterly newsletter and work to increase recipients. We will also distribute current and new marketing materials, including Spanish and French versions, that promote public awareness of IA education, networking, and assistance to Extension offices, program partners, and agricultural stakeholders. Along with our quarterly newsletter and program marketing materials, we will continue marketing efforts utilizing a variety of media platforms including newspaper, social media, radio, and digital.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? In year two, Illinois AgrAbility worked on spreading awareness about the program as well as providing educational opportunities surrounding the concept of being proactive with your farm health and safety. Illinois AgrAbility is focusing its program initiatives on the four priority areas: Direct Assistance, Education, Networking, and Marketing. Direct Assistance- Illinois AgrAbility continues to reach farmers, veterans who farm and farmworkers through onsite farm visits. In year two, IA has performed 4 farm site visits across the state with individuals who are experiencing different limitations and disabilities. IA also shared resources surrounding assistive technology, rural mental health, and Illinois disability programs with 7 additional clients who reached out and were seeking information. Client Intake Form- Upon receiving a phone call, email, or word of mouth referral/request from a potential client, the client is asked to complete a brief online form. This form enables our team to collect the initial and necessary information in order to more accurately and efficiently meet the needs of our clients through AgrAbility. The client is able to complete the form over the phone with IA if that is requested. Salesforce Database- Throughout communication and work with a client, their info and updates are put into a case in Salesforce by the Illinois AgrAbility program coordinator. This program allows IA to keep up to date on client communications, farm visits, notes, etc. The program also allows the IA team to send timely email updates, check-ins, and announcements as needed. Education- Educational activities will focus on the following audiences: farmers, veteran farmers, migrant farmworkers, farm families, health professionals, and agricultural stakeholders. Currently, Illinois AgrAbility is focusing on two items within education: awareness/knowledge of program and educational resources for clients, health professionals and stakeholders. Awareness/knowledge- The IA team seeks out and attends a variety of events across the state that surround agriculture, farmers, healthcare, etc. Attending and participating in these events allows us to present to potential clients, partners, and stakeholders about AgrAbility and what we can do for those who work on a farm. To date, the IA team has attended several events, workshops, and conferences including: Farm Progress Show held in Decatur, IL. Illinois AgrAbility hosted the Health and Safety Tent which brought in over 1,000 farmers, farm families, veteran farmers, and agricultural business men and women from around the nation to participate in free health screenings, safety demonstrations, and more. Illinois Farm Bureau Annual Meeting in Chicago, IL, which brought in 100 farmers, farm bureau members, and stakeholders from across the state to promote AgrAbility. Everything Local' Conference held in Springfield, IL, which brought in 75 growers and stakeholders across the state to learn about AgrAbility. Annual Farmer Veteran Coalition Stakeholders Meeting where 25 farmer veterans and stakeholders learned about the Illinois AgrAbility program. Southern IL Fruit & Vegetable School workshop reaching 25 growers and farmers from southern Illinois Annie's Project presentations reaching 30 women in agriculture across the state. Farmer Wellness Day workshop reaching 42 nursing students in Illinois who were learning about agricultural programs and resources for farmers with injury or disability. IA presented at the National AgrAbility Training Workshop in Atlanta, GA on the topic of our ambassador program. 25 AgrAbility staff, farmers, veterans, and stakeholders attended the workshop. Unit Master Gardener/Naturalist Meeting presentation reaching 20 Master Gardeners and Naturalists from Bond, Jefferson, Marion, Clinton, & Washington counties Student Occupational Therapy Lab guest presenter on Illinois AgrAbility, reaching 15 students attending North Central College in Chicago from across the nation. Panel for Supportive Resources for Farmer Clients reaching 50 students from the SIU Law School to learn about programs and resources that might help their farmer clients Hosted two AgrAbility Advisory Board meetings consisting of 15 stakeholders and staff from across the state Presented at an Illinois County Director's meeting for 30 Extension staff to educate them about AgrAbility and ambassador program opportunity Educational Resources-The IA teamworked together to develop resource guides on a variety of topics related to agricultural safety. These resources can be found on our public website or via visual handouts that are utilized during outreach activities. Topics currently developed include: Fire Safety ATV/UTV Safety Ag Machinery and Tractor Safety In addition to resource guides and self-management classes, IA also hosted a spring webinar series surrounding important agricultural topics including 'Mental Health in Ag', 'Injury in Ag', and 'Farmworkers in Ag'. This series reached 30 people via webinar and recorded versions of these webinars can be found on our public website for listening and learning. Networking: Illinois AgrAbility is continuing to expand and strengthen collaborations with various organizations with interest and resources that would benefit farm people with disabilities. This is also critical in the long-term sustainability of the program with organizations that can provide both financial and in-kind resources. Advisory Board- In year two of our grant cycle, Illinois AgrAbility has met with our Advisory Board twice, once in person and once virtually. The Board is made up of 14 different organizations throughout Illinois that all have the mission of serving our agricultural community through their work. The advisory board meets twice annually, more if immediate issues arise, to discuss networking opportunities and the future of Illinois AgrAbility. The board objectives are to: Provide perspective and insight into the needs of Illinois agricultural producers and workers. Provide feedback on resources, as needed, for AgrAbility programs dependent on specific clients and vice versa. Promote Illinois AgrAbility and refer potential clients to the program. Marketing- In year two, Illinois AgrAbility continues to enhance awareness of Illinois AgrAbility and brand recognition of Illinois AgrAbility among farmers, potential clients, agricultural leaders, and the public. We kicked off the new year with a 3-month statewide marketing campaign which ran from November through January and involved both the Illinois Farmer Today and Illinois Farm Bureau. The marketing platforms included radio, newspaper, website, and social media. This campaign spread awareness about Illinois AgrAbility and its resources, how interested persons can reach out and learn more, and reached all 102 counties in the state. Our reach included: Print Results: 140,000 reach, 211,400 readership, Radio: 403,180 listeners Social: 204,025 impressions, 1,197 clicks, 0.59% CTR IA also implemented a 'Tuesday Toolbox' campaign on our Facebook page that highlighted a different piece of assistive technology from the National AgrAbility Toolbox each week. This campaign consisted of one social media post on Tuesdays for 5 weeks beginning November 21, 2023. This campaign totaled 146 impressions, 113 reaches, and 13 engagements on Facebook @IllinoisAgrAbility.

Publications

Progress 08/01/22 to 07/31/23

Outputs
Target Audience:Target audiences include: - Farmers with disabilities - Veteran farmers with disabilities - Young adult farmers with disabilities - Farm families - Farmworkers with disabilities - Illinois Rural Health Association - Illinois Extension - Illinois Farm Family Resource Initaitve - Illinois Farmer Veteran Coalition - Occupational therapists - Physical therapists - Rural healthcare providers - Rural health clinics - Carle Health - Illinois Farm Bureau - Community Health Partners of Illinois - USDA- FSA (Farm Service Agency) - Illinois Physical Therapy Association - Illinois Occupational Therapy Association - CRIS Healthy Aging of Champaign and Vermillon Counties - Assistive Technology Unit, Department of Disability and Human Development at University of Illinois at Chicago - Farm Rescue - Illinois Assistive Technology Program Changes/Problems:Illinois AgrAbility experienced a number of challenges in year 1 which delayed activities. The challenges are described below: - Delays in Hiring Project Coordinator: We experienced a delay in hiring the AgrAbility Project Coordinator due to policy and procedural changes and challenges internally. We were not able to finalize a job description until after funds had been allocated. Furthermore, COVID-19 changed the procedures for hiring and interviewing. We were finally able to hold interviews for the position in late 2022 and made an excellent hire early in 2023. - Website Creation and Branding: Per Illinois Extension, AgrAbility utilized Extension's internal marketing communications (MarCom) team to build and brand a new program website so that the website correctly portrayed both Illinois Extension and Illinois AgrAbility. This involved several meetings and website drafts with the MarCom team to ensure branding, photos, text, and layout were accessible, visually appealing, and shared information correctly. For a fairly simple website, this project ended up taking 6 months for the MarCom team to complete. This was due to the MarCom team being short staffed and having too many projects on their hands. AgrAbility's website continued to be pushed aside as the MarCom team didn't view it as a priority during a time when they were also implementing a new design for all existing Extension webpages. During the 6 months of the website being built, Illinois AgrAbility had to continue referring clients and stakeholders to the outdated and unbranded website that did not have the ability to be updated by our team as that website development was outsourced several years ago and a contract with them no longer existed. Illinois AgrAbility is also relying on the MarCom team to help us develop new and branded marketing materials including a brochure, swag items, pop up banners, and tablecloths. Due to the MarCom team being short staffed and prioritizing larger projects, these smaller AgrAbility projects have also been delayed by 2 months or more. - Delay in contract andlicense: Illinois AgrAbility is preparing to get staff trained in a Chronic Pain Self Management course so that we can lead workshops across the state for our various audiences. In order to lead this course we need to have a license and contract signed and agreed upon by both the Univeristy of Illinois Purchasing and Contractsand Self Management Resource Center (SMRC). Illinois AgrAbility began this process in April and to this day, is still waiting on the University of Illinois and SMRC to complete their parts of the contract so Illinois AgrAbility can receive its license. This is a delay beyond our control yet we are having to wait patiently. The University of Illinois Purchasing and Contracts Office (the signee for Illinois AgrAbilitly) has shared that they needed to prioritizefiscal year-end deadlines fiscal year-end deadlines before focusing on contracts. As soon as the contract is signed by both parties then SMRC will work to get our staff trained via a 6-week training process. Once training is complete we are free to organize and lead Chronic Pain Self Management course workshops across the state for the next 3 years when we'd need to renew our license with SMRC. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Professional Development: In year 1, AgrAbility staff had the opportunity to attend several professional development (PD) opportunities across the nation. These PD opportunities provided staff with new resources, knowledge, and contacts that we can utilize as we contiue to move forward and grow our program in Illinois. National Training Workshop in Spokane, WA.- This conference is the premier training event addressing issues of disability in agriculture. Professionals and consumers from all over the country participate in four days of plenary sessions, breakouts, tours, networking and special events. Indiana Assistive Technology Workshop at Purdue University- This workshop offered a full-day technology expo which provided experiential learning opportunities with assistive technology, farm visit, demonstrations and training on assistive technology for ag professionals across the region. Veterans in Farming Regional Workshop in Indianapolis- This regional workshop focused on veterans working in agriculture. The 3-day event included workshop sessions on topics of business planning, marketing your product, farming with a disability, and resources, programs, and benefits for veterans. The last day consisted of touring veteran-owned and operated farm businesses. Training Activities: In year 1, AgrAbility Program Coordinator, Haley Jones, had the opportunity to provide an educational presentation surrounding AgrAbility at threeAging in Agriculture summits throughout the state of Illinois. These summits were hosted by the SIU School of Medicine Center for Rural Health and Social Service Development Farm Family Resource Initiative. Topics presented on by experts at the summits included farm succession planning, rural mental health, and AgrAbility. Nearly 50 farmers from across the state came together to listen, learn, and grow through discussion and questions at these summits. Farmers convenedin the towns of Springfield, Macomb, and Mount Vernon. The AgrAbility presentation covered topics including: - What is AgrAbility? - Who does AgrAbility serve? - How does the program work? - How to reach out if you or someone you know could benefit from the program? The presentations were not only educational and informative but also included some fun and interaction for participants through Illinois trivia, AgrAbility swag items, and resource handouts. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Website In year 1 of the grant cycle, emphasis was put on gettingthe project website updated, refreshed and branded correctly. The Illinois AgrAbility website serves as the landing page for our news releases, upcoming events, contact methods, services, and more. Extra care was put into the wording, graphics, and layout of the site so that Illinois AgrAbility remained a welcoming program for farmers, veterans, and farmworkers from all walks of life across Illinois. The website can be viewed here:https://extension.illinois.edu/agrability Newsletter As clients, stakeholders, health professionals, and families engage with the AgrAbiliity program in Illinois, they will have the opportunity to sign up for our project's quarterly newsletter. This newsletter will consist of project highlights, client success stories, educational resources, partner recognition,and event opportunities. It will be sent out digitally via email and can be mailed hard copy as requested. This newsletter will aid in ensuring that Illinois AgrAbility is kept in the forefront of people's minds as they continue working in agriculture, whether they can benefit from AgrAbility themselves or they know someone who can. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Illinois AgrAbility will focus its Year 2 program initiatives on the following four priority areas: Direct Assistance, Education, Networking, and Marketing. Specific objectives for each priority area are listed below. 1. Direct Assistance In the last year, we have expanded on the technical assistance that Illinois AgrAbility (IA) has been capable of providing in the past thanks, in part, to a dedicated team of experts who are able to provide recommendations to IA clients. Craig Wadsworth is a rehabilitation engineer with the Illinois Assistive Technology Program, one of our non-profit partner organizations. Mr. Wadsworth has been working with IA for the past ten years. He also has a contract with the Illinois Department of Rehabilitation Services that supports the cost of his time and expenses when assisting farm people who qualify for DRS services. Community Health Partnership of Illinois's Outreach Coordinators will provide direct services to referrals to the IA client service managers to farmworkers with disabilities in Illinois. Haley Jones, project coordinator, will assist the client service managers in providing direct assistance. The project coordinator will field calls and emails from potential clients and referrals, connect potential clients with a client service manager, and assist in administering the evaluations (McGill Quality of Life, etc.). Direct services will include on-farm consultation; providing requested materials or information by phone, mail or email; and linking farmers with disabilities to resources and service organizations that may assist them in meeting their needs. Examples include connecting clients with organizations that offer prosthesis that is durable enough for farm work, financial assistance, counseling, peer counseling which connects new clients with former clients who have similar disabilities or financial management. Scarce resources combined with an aging farm population and the subsequent increase in disabilities creates the need for technical and financial assistance not adequately addressed by other health, farm, and government service providers. 2. Education In Year 2, educational activities will continue to focus on the following audiences: farmers with disabilities, veteran farmers with disabilities, migrant farmworkers with disabilities, health professionals, and agricultural stakeholders. Education targeted towards farmers and their families with disabilities, with special focus on our three target populations (farmers with disabilities, veteran farmers with disabilities, migrant farmworkers) will focus on increasing awareness on how assistive technology can help them in their agricultural work and managing their disability, in addition to programs that work to prevent disabilities. We will introduce a Chronic Pain Self-Management course, a six-week, highly participatory program that builds participants' confidence in their ability to manage their health and maintain active and fulfilling lives (LeFort, Gray-Donald, Rowat, & Jeans, 1998). Topics covered in the program include appropriate use of medications; techniques to deal with problems such as frustration, fatigue, isolation, and poor sleep; and appropriate exercise for maintaining and improving strength, flexibility, and endurance. Illinois Extension educators will receive the appropriate certification to lead the course. This new course will be offered in all four years of the project. Illinois professionals that serve the target populations lack awareness and knowledge of the specialized needs of farmers with disabilities and the resources that are available through IA. Education targeted towards health professionals, including physical and occupational therapists, rural medical students, primary care providers, and social workers, will increase understanding of the unique challenges and hazards of agriculture and special modifications and considerations for farmers with disabilities. Education targeted towards agricultural stakeholders, including Extension educators, Farm Bureau staff, IA Ambassadors, and Farm Service Agency staff, will increase knowledge about services and resources that IA can provide and will better prepare these individuals and their respective organizations to refer their farmer members with disabilities to IA. These educational programs will be offered in all four years of the project. 3. Networking Continuing to expand and strengthen collaborations with various organizations with interest and resources that would benefit farm people with disabilities is essential. This is also critical in the long-term sustainability of the program that can provide both financial and in-kind resources. We have identified several opportunities to network throughout Illinois. We will continue to grow the Illinois Ambassador program, which is off to a slow start given busy schedules and competing priorities. We will continue to convene the Advisory board twice a year and look forward to an in-person meeting and discussion. Results from networking objectives and activities will be used by IA staff for future planning and modifying efforts as needed. Information will also be shared with NAP and other SRAPs through the AgrAbility newsletter and at the National Training Workshop (NTW). 4. Marketing Marketing efforts are critical to increasing awareness of Illinois AgrAbility, maintaining support from the program, and recruiting clients. Year 2 will include an increase in marketing initiatives.Press releases will be circulated through Illinois farm media outlets (Illinois Farm Week, Illinois Farm Bureau newsletter, rural radio) highlighting a client story, event, or educational program. Illinois Extension has a very talented, professional marketing team that has access to over 400 media outlets in the state. With the help of this team, we are able to amplify the Illinois AgrAbility story and ensure state-wide distribution of information. We will evaluate these efforts by examining traffic to the IA website and the number of client referrals to IA from each effort (captured during initial meeting with potential client on CMS). Illinois AgrAbility originally proposed to update IA display boards for each partner and interested collaborator in Year 1. However, we will continue with these initiatives in Year 2 as we did not expend the entire budget and realize materials are consistently needing updated. We will also distribute current and new marketing materials, including Spanish versions, that promote public awareness of IA education, networking, and assistance to Extension offices and to agricultural stakeholders.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? In the first year of the project, Illinois AgrAbility (IA) worked on setting the program up for success. A program coordinator was hired to complete the Illinois AgrAbility team in January 2023.Within the first 4 months of having a full team on board, IA met to discuss goals, began a program rebrand with the University of Illinois Extension, formed an Advisory Board, began taking in client requests, and attended many networking and educational events across the nation. Illinois AgrAbility focused its program initiatives on the four priority areas: direct assistance, education, networking, and marketing. Direct Assistance- Illinois AgrAbility worked to set its foundation so that the program can provide direct assistance to farmers, veteran farmers, and farmworkers across the state. Despite waiting on marketing and promotional materials to launch, Illinois AgrAbility continued to be available to serve clients. Within just two months of the IA team becoming fully staffed and onboarded, IA received client requests from 4 individuals across the state, who are experiencing different limitations and disabilities. From these 4 potential clients, IA has completed one farm site visit and two virtual (phone or Zoom) meetings with 2 clients. One client, Thomas from central Illinois, who suffers from Chronic Inflammation Demyelinating Polyneuropathy (CIDP), received a free farm site visit from IA. Despite Thomas being in the beginning stages on his journey with AgrAbility, his mother, Sue, followed up after the visit to share the impact of Illinois AgrAbility on her son, "It was uplifting for Tom to finally have someone check up on him." An important accomplishment was developing an online client intake form to streamline the process for clients and better inform the IA team of client needs. Upon receiving a phone call, email, or word of mouth referral/request from a potential client, the client is asked to complete a brief online form. This form enables our team to collect the initial and necessary information to more accurately and efficiently meetthe needs of our clients through AgrAbility. The client can complete the form over the phone with IA if that is requested. Education- Educational activities have focused on the following audiences: farmers, veteran farmers, migrant farmworkers, farm families, health professionals, and agricultural stakeholders. In year 1, Illinois AgrAbility focused on two items within education: awareness/knowledge of program and educational resources for clients, health professionals and stakeholders. In year 1, the IA team sought out and attended a variety of events across the state that surround agriculture, farmers, healthcare, etc. Attending and participating in these events allowed us to present to potential clients, partners, and stakeholders about AgrAbility and what we can do for those who work on a farm. A few important events included: Rural Mental Health Summit hosted by Southern Illinois University School of Medicine and Illinois Extension. Illinois AgrAbility hosted a booth with information and handouts for the 25 healthcare professionals in attendance from across Illinois. Aging in Ag Summits facilitated by Southern Illinois University School of Medicine in Illinois. Illinois AgrAbility gave a 30-minute presentation, three times in three towns, about AgrAbility and what we can do for farmers, veterans in farming and farmworkers in IL. We reached over 50 farmers throughout the three summits. National Training Workshop in Spokane, WA. Networked with 250 farmers, staff, and partners involved in AgrAbility nationally. Indiana Assistive Technology Workshop at Purdue University. Networked with 30 healthcare professionals, AgrAbility staff, and partners. Veterans in Farming Regional Workshop in Indianapolis. Networked with 30 staff, veterans, and partners involved in AgrAbility. Additionally, Illinois AgrAbility is currently obtaining a license from University of Illinois and the Self-Management Resource Center to offer Chronic Pain Self-Management, a six-week, highly participatory program that builds participants' confidence in their ability to manage their health and maintain active and fulfilling lives. The license will allow for four University of Illinois Extension staff (Burcham, Ridgley,Jones and 1 more) to get trained to facilitate and lead this course across the state. Topics include but are not limited to appropriate exercise for maintaining and improving strength and endurance, balancing activity with rest, tools for overcoming worst-case thinking, how our minds affect pain and how we can use our minds to lessen pain, negative emotions, healthy eating, and more. This course is open to anyone throughout Illinois who is experiencing chronic pain. Finally, IA developed an educational resource about assistive technology that will be available at booths and online. Networking- Illinois AgrAbility continued to expand and strengthen collaborations with various organizations with interest and resources that would benefit farm people with disabilities. This is also critical in the long-term sustainability of the program with organizations that can provide both financial and in-kind resources. In year one of our grant cycle, Illinois AgrAbility convened an Advisory Board. The board is made up of 14 different organizations throughout Illinois that all have the mission of serving our agricultural community through their work. The advisory board met twice in year 1 to discuss networking opportunities and the future of Illinois AgrAbility. Additionally, Illinois AgrAbility participated in a number of events to connect with partners and potential clients during year 1. These include, but are not limited to: Farm Bureau Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL Ag Mental Health Summit, Springfield, IL Aging in Agriculture, various locations around IL Illinois State Fair, Springfield, IL Farm Progress Show, Decatur, IL National FFA Convention, Indianapolis, IN Women in Agriculture Conference, Davenport, IA National Training Workshop, Spokane, WA International Society for Agricultural Safety and Health Annual Meeting, Tampa, FL Marketing- In year 1, Illinois AgrAbility has worked to enhance awareness of Illinois AgrAbility and brand recognition of Illinois AgrAbility among farmers, potential clients, agricultural leaders, and the public. IA continues to work with University of Illinois Extension to rebrand and refresh all outdated Illinois AgrAbility handouts, digital resources, and tangibles. These include: New logo correctly branded with Illinois Extension Informational postcardsfor distribution at events, booths, etc. Facebook page Promotional/informational brochure Promotional/informational social media graphics for Facebook 'Connect with AgrAbility'card Resource guide for assistive technology Website Online client intake form Pop up banners (4 total) Swag items including pens, magnifying tools, and touchscreen gloves Press release announcing re-launch of Illinois AgrAbility

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