Progress 09/01/23 to 08/31/24

Outputs
Target Audience:Maine AgrAbility worked with service providers across the state, reaching an increasingly diverse audience, with expansion beyond just farmer clients to also include fishermen and loggers. In the past project year we expanded and renewed relationships with network partners to continue to increase capacity for AgrAbility work. We conducted educational outreach to Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) personnel, assistive technology (AT) partners, healthcare providers, and service providers about disability issues for our client groups and to provide insight to their production culture. During Year 2, we conducted in-person visits, working directly with clients to assist in navigating resources, exploring AT ideas, and coordinating recommendations to help them be successful. We worked with individuals with disabilities involved in production agriculture, fishing, and logging and their families. We participated in 41 events (presentations and exhibits/displays), reaching about 850 direct contacts. Our website garnered 21,870 pageviews across the site from 7/23/2023 - 7/22/2024 (most recent data available). Monthly pageviews increased 67% compared to the monthly views in the last reporting period. We published a Yoga Stretches for Fishermen poster that included eight photos and written descriptions. Our models were commercial fishermen in their regular work clothes and on boats and docks. We have distributed 150 of these posters so far and are preparing for our third print run. Our programs have been promoted in the mainstream media, shared in local print and digital platforms, as well as national digital platforms. We regularly publish articles in the commodity magazines Commercial Fisheries News (print and digital circulation of about 5,000 readers) and The Logger's Voice (print and digital circulation of about 1,000 readers). We also share our videos on the UMaine Cooperative Extension and National AgrAbility YouTube channels. Changes/Problems:In the past program year, we continued to have some changes with our coordinator position. The candidate who was hired in September, 2023, was not a good fit for the position and left the next month. In January, 2024, we hired Bella Russo for the position, and she is doing very well, providing new skills, organization, enthusiasm, and energy. Our veteran outreach coordinator left the project in the fall, as she finished up all her Maine positions. We hope to refill that position this fall. The PD also faced challenges this year, with the death of her spouse this winter, following two years of surgeries, illness, hospital stays, and loss of independent mobility. Although we again had contractors filling in for coordinator tasks, staff vacancies meant a reduced rate of expenditure for this project year. We will be proposing a budget reallocation for unspent portions of the appropriations for years 1 and 2. This will allow us to expand outreach to our priority audiences. We are in a good position for these next two years, with a strong, committed, and capable team. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?AgrAbility staff exhibited or taught professionals (OTs, VR, ag/fishing/logging service providers) at nine events. One important presentation was to the Agricultural Council of Maine. That group is comprised of representatives of all the commodity groups in the state and is a gateway to many producers. Another important event was the Maine Military and Community Network Conference, where the AgrAbility coordinator was able to meet and network with 29 program representatives. Staff are following up with contacts from these meetings. In March 2024, Maine AgrAbility was well represented at the Annual AgrAbility National Training Workshop (NTW) in Atlanta, Georgia, with three program-related staff, and one advisory council member representing Vocational Rehabilitation participating in the four-day workshop. AgrAbility staff presented or co-presented on three topics: "A Novel Approach to Pain Management For Farmers, Including Pilot Study," "SRAP Panel Discussion on Taking the RESNA AT Fundamentals Course," "Let's Mooove: Movement and Self-Massage for Longevity and Productivity on the Farm." We worked with a Level II Fieldwork Occupational Therapy student Morgan Becker during the fall of 2023. They researched and prepared a presentation on assistive technology for fishermen. This will be added to our web site this coming year. Maine AgrAbility staff were able to participate in two very unique professional development activities during this project year. The first was a tour of a commercial oyster farm, where we learned about oyster and seaweed production in different marine environments. These operations involve many repetitive tasks completed from awkward positions from an unstable, floating surface. We were able to observe and try various challenging tasks, including flipping oyster bags, opening cages, and emptying and re-filling cages. These observations and conversations have helped staff better understand and work with fishing clients. A second unique opportunity was a field visit to a private logging company's sites in northern Maine, for a shared day of learning between Maine AgrAbility and commercial loggers and safety coordinators. Staff learned about physical logistics of the logging worksite and types of logging equipment. They spoke directly with loggers about typical job experiences and common pain and injuries associated with their work. Loggers demonstrated different types of logging equipment, and staff were able to operate a number of types of machinery to better understand the challenges. Other parts of the day included a tour of the maintenance garage, visiting the logging camps, and touring some of the logging equipment. The opportunity increased the awareness of the Maine LogAbility program to loggers and generated at least one technical contact within a week and a half of the field visit. Safety and environmental coordinator said following the day; "I have been doing my job inspections for the month and am spreading the word and brochures about your program. I or some of the guys may reach out to you in the future. Thanks for what you are doing for the loggers!" How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?This year our we staffed exhibits, provided training and education opportunities, and provided direct service to clients. We exhibited and taught commercial farmers, fishermen, and loggers at 41 between July 2023 and June 2024. This included significant outreach to over 70 loggers, over 100 fishermen, and over 150 farmers through this time We provided resources about the program to almost 850 people between July 2023 and July 2024 (Goal 1.B). Methods of outreach include our website, social media, publications, presentations, and presence at state and regional commodity-focused trades shows. We provide articles for partner publications, particularly Commercial Fisheries News (print and digital circulation of about 5,000 readers) and The Logger's Voice (print and digital circulation of about 1,000 readers). Our program coordinator was interviewed by FOX 22 Bangor at the Maine Dairy Industry Association meeting. We also shared our monthly news and activities with other SRAP's by participating in the monthly e-Note published by the NAP. As we continue to market our program, we identified clients through referrals from Cooperative Extension staff, our non-profit partner connections at Alpha One, our diverse advisory council, and USDA field staff. We continue to work with the Maine New Farmers Project, the Maine Farmer Resource Network, Maine Agricultural Mediation, Maine Coast Fisherman's Association, Professional Logging Contractors of Maine, Vocational Rehabilitation, and Sunrise County Economic Council. When we work with AgrAbility clients that are new, transitioning, or aspiring farmers, we use these resources to assist clients in their process. A direct result of this work is the ability to refer clients to resources that can support client needs that require expertise beyond the range of AgrAbility staff, for example creating succession plans, and navigating chronic disease transitions with client families. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Our team is excited about the next two years of the project and the consistency and stability our new coordinator provides. We will be undergoing strategic planning in September, 2024, to design a clear action plan to address the needs of our individual clients, industries, and partners. Our team is already strong, enthusiastic, and committed. This planning process will bring additional focus and clarity. In addition to our usual activities, in the next year we will expand ag service provider outreach to include Extension staff; USDA offices; Department of Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry; Soil and Water Conservation District offices; and partner non-profits. We plan to continue emphasizing program visibility through presentations and public exhibits, as we have seen that many clients come to us by way of these public events. Additionally, we will be proposing a budget reallocation for unspent portions of the appropriations for years 1 and 2. This reallocation proposal will include funding for increased contractor time to support clients in all areas, but particularly fishing, logging, and military veteran clients. We also would like to create videos featuring specific adaptations and assistive technologies useful for farmers, fishermen, and loggers and film a some new client testimonial videos.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Maine AgrAbilty's mission is to increase the likelihood that farmers, farm workers and farm family members with chronic health issues and disabilities will experience success in agricultural production. We work with individuals and family members with disabilities involved in production agriculture, fishing, and logging and their families. In this grant cycle, the University of Maine Cooperative Extension (Extension) is continuing its partnership with the non-profit organization Alpha One and is working with several independent contractors. Alpha One's project team consists of occupational therapists (OTs), occupational therapy assistants, independent living specialists and an architect. This partnership has been developed over nearly a decade and has enabled us to continue delivering AgrAbility programming in Maine. In addition, we partnered with three independent contractors with occupational therapy, farming and education skills to enhance outreach and direct client services (Goal I.A). We have had a particular emphasis on promotion of the program, including a presence at outreach events and updating promotional materials (Goal IV.A). Using the demographic timeframe of April 1, 2023 to March 31, 2024, we served 9 new clients, continued to work with 11 existing clients and closed 2 client cases (Goal I.A). We continuously look for ways to improve the program, including working with an outside evaluator. We received low response the evaluator in 2023, and so we will be revising our methods for this coming year. In addition to clients, AgrAbility staff provided technical resources to our program contacts (Goal I.B). Methods of outreach and education include our website, press releases, and the social media outlets of Facebook, and X (formerly Twitter). We also provide articles for partner publications, particularly the Logger's Voice (a publication of the Professional Logging Contractors of Maine, circulation about 1,000) and Commercial Fisheries News (print and digital circulation of about 5,000 readers). Our coordinator was interviewed at the Maine Dairy Seminar for a local TV station. We also shared our monthly news and activities with other SRAP's by participating in the monthly e-Note published by the NAP. Our website garnered 21,870 pageviews across the site from 7/23/2023 - 7/22/2024. Average monthly pageviews increased 67% compared to the monthly views in the last reporting period. Maine AgrAbility worked with service providers across the state, reaching an increasingly diverse audience, with expansion beyond just farmer clients to also include fishermen and loggers. In the past project year we expanded and renewed relationships with network partners to continue to increase capacity for AgrAbility work. Staff presented to the Agricultural Council of Maine this winter. That group is comprised of representatives of all the commodity groups in the state and so is a gateway to many producers. Staff are following up with contacts from this meeting. We conducted educational outreach to Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) personnel, assistive technology (AT) partners, healthcare providers, and service providers about disability issues for our client groups and to provide insight to their production culture. We have sent AgrAbility promotional materials to all county Extension offices and will follow up with presentations to the ag staff and at an organization-wide webinar later in the year. We also worked directly with farmers, to assist in navigating resources, exploring assistive technology ideas, and to coordinate recommendations to help them be successful. We have worked through network partners, extension educators, occupational health networks and word of mouth to increase awareness of Maine AgrAbility (Goal II.A). During the past year, we participated in 41 agriculture, fishing, and logging events. Of these events, 7 were fishing specific and 6 were logging specific. Through these events, we distributed brochures, booklets, rack cards, posters, and safety decals. In Year 2, we made about 850 direct contacts by talking and sharing information at events, meetings or workshops (Goal IV.A). AgrAbility staff led and assisted with a multi-session 4-H/Extension Tractor Safety course that included eight youth and three adults. Staff also taught 4-Hers about ergonomics and represented the program at one of the county fairs. (Goal II.C) Demonstration equipment and a borrowing program allowed us to demonstrate the pros and cons of specific tools or work modification on an individual basis. Demonstrations were provided at three Events (Goal III.B). AgrAbility staff also borrowed AT from the Maine AT Loan program for a high-school age tractor safety student to assist with reading the manual. "This is awesome!" was the student's response after they tried it at home. The family is planning to purchase a device like this for them. We have an established 10 person advisory council (Goal III.A), representing a diverse background of professionals and farmers with knowledge of various disabilities and markets. Advisory council members represent farmers, fishermen, loggers, veterans, brain injury, assistive technology and department of labor interests. During the quarterly meetings the council provides AgrAbility programming guidance and direction. Additionally, during staff or advisory council meetings we invite network partners to talk about their program and share resources. Working with new advisory council members has opened doors to new audiences. We continue to work with the support and collaboration of NAP and other SRAPs. To help AgrAbility staff continue to provide quality education and support to clients, we participated in continuing education opportunities (Goal II.D) for staff such as the National Training Workshops (in-person and virtual), AgrAbility webinars, and AgrAbility all-staff conference calls. Maine AgrAbility continues to look for options for long-term sustainability of the work (Goal III.C). Using plans developed with AgrAbility, a private contractor was able to provide multiple ergonomic training sessions to loggers as part of their annual safety training. Thanks to recent outreach activity, Maine AgrAbility was asked to provided a letter of support for a National Institute of Nursing Research grant written by a coalition of health care providers and researchers working with fishermen. Although that grant was not funded, we hope to explore opportunities for collaboration and financial support with this group in the future.

Publications

• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: Weisman, B. and J. Wall. National Training Workshop, AgrAbility.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: SRAP Panel Discussion on Taking the RESNA AT Fundamentals Course. 2024. LaJeunesse, J., N. Stoller, B. Weisman, L. Akgerman, and L. Head. National Training Workshop, AgrAbility.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: Lets Mooove: Movement and Self-Massage for Longevity and Productivity on the Farm. 2024. Small, A. National Training Workshop, AgrAbility. http://www.agrability.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Lets-MOOOOVE-Movement-and-Massage-for-Longevity-on-the-Farm.pdf

Progress 09/01/22 to 08/31/23

Outputs
Target Audience:Maine AgrAbility worked with service providers across the state, reaching an increasingly diverse audience and revisiting existing network partners to continue to increase capacity for AgrAbility work. We conducted educational outreach to Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) personnel, assistive technology (AT) partners, healthcare providers, agriculture service providers, and farmers about disability issues facing farmers and provide insight to farm culture. Our team has also expanded its outreach to include loggers and fishermen and the service providers and organizations that support them. During Year 1, we were able to conduct in-person visits, working directly with clients to assist in navigating resources, exploring AT ideas, and coordinating recommendations to help them be successful. We work with individuals with disabilities involved in production agriculture and their families. In addition these key groups, of farmers and farm workers with disabilities, we have also focused efforts on these subsets of farmers: military veterans who farm and migrant farmworkers. We participated in 28 events, reaching over 700 people. In coordination with an Advisory Council member, a set of 8 short videos of stretches for fisherman was developed, and included photos and written descriptions. Our website garnered 11,460 pageviews across the site from 9/1/23 to 7/23/23 (most recent data available).Our programs have been promoted in the mainstream media, shared in local print and digital platforms, as well as national digital news platforms and YouTube. Changes/Problems:During Year 1, we saw the retirement of our long-time Project Director, Dick Brzozowski, and the coordinator position was vacant, following the departure of long-time leader Lani Carlson. We planned to rehire quickly, but were delayed by the PD's limited schedule and some institutional delays. Gaps were filled by additional time from existing contractors. We have offered the position to a new coordinator, and we plan to have them on staff on Sept. 1, 2023. They bring broad experience in production agriculture, extensive connections among ag service providers, and experience with UMaine grant and budget management systems. These changes and challenges should have been discussed with the funder, even with the short anticipated timeframe and definitely with the extended timeframe. There will be better communication in the future. The PD was overextended during the last year, as she took on other major grants and programming responsibilities due to many organizational retirements. The PD has also been adjusting to major family changes as her spouse dealt with major injuries, surgeries, and the development of significant mobility impairments. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?With reduced staff this year, we were not able to staff as many exhibits as in past years, choosing to focus on direct service, if a choice needed to be made. Even so, we have exhibited or taught professionals at 10 events. This included significant outreach to over 60 Maine VR counselors and to 76 OT students in Maine and across the country. In March 2023, Maine AgrAbility was well represented at the Annual AgrAbility National Training Workshop (NTW) in Spokane, Washington, with 3 program-related staff, 2 farmers and family members, and 2 advisory council members participating in the four-day workshop. All of the staff presented or co-presented with other SRAPS on: Cultivating Student Partnerships Cultivating Post-Traumatic Growth and Community Reintegration Outreach to Land and Sea Farmers to Meet Them Where They Are At We worked with James Wall, Ph.D. candidate, on his capstone project, "Exploring a New Pain Tool for Maine Commercial Farmers". The new pain evaluation tool was developed by Maine AgrAbility and the study found that this tool helped farmers recognize and be more aware of their physical pain. As part of the project, James also participated in site visits, staffing booths, teaching groups, and writing articles. We are excited to report that James received his doctorate in July--the first OTD awarded from the University of Southern Maine! We will be offering a Level II Fieldwork experience during fall of 2023. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?During Year 1, we served 12 new clients (Goal I.A), continued to work with 9 existing clients and closed 3 client cases (2 new and 1 existing clients between April 1, 2022 to March 31, 2023). We provided technical resources for more than 232 people between July 2018 and June 2019 (Goal I.B). Methods of outreach and education include our website (nearly 11,500 pageviews in 10.5 months), press releases, and the social media outlets of Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. We also provide articles for partner publications, particularly the Logger's Voice (a publication of the Professional Logging Contractors of Maine, circulation about 1,000) and Commercial Fisheries News (print and digital circulation of about 5,000 readers). One of our OTs was interviewed for WAGM-TV, a station located in Aroostook County, the hub of Maine commercial potato production. We also shared our monthly news and activities with other SRAP's by participating in the monthly e-Note published by the NAP. As we continue to market our program, we identified clients through our veteran outreach coordinator, referrals from Cooperative Extension, as well as our non- profit partnerconnections at Alpha One and our diverse Advisory Council. We continue to collaborate with the Maine Farmer Resource Network and the Maine New Farmers Project. When we work with AgrAbility clients that are new, transitioning or aspiring farmers, we use these resources to assist clients in their process. A direct result of this work we are able to refer clients to resources that can support clients needs that we are not equipped to handle, for example business planning and financing (Goal III.A).? What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?In the next reporting period, we will maintain our strong team and be able to increase our activities when our new coordinator starts on September 1. This will enable us to be present at more events and meetings, thereby generating more interest, knowledge, and clients. With the new coordinator's background, I anticipate that their contacts will help us increase outreach to farm laborers and other underserved audiences in 2023-2024. They will also be able to meet regularly with other ag service providers, which the current staff haven't been able to do. They will also enable Maine to be more active in national program conversations and goals. As a team, we will continue to learn about fishermen and loggers and their needs. Our Advisory Council members from those sectors are a valuable asset for helping us connect. We have increased collaboration with MaineCite, a state program designed to make assistive technology more accessible. As part of this, we are working toward partnering on a mobile AT "library" van to make it easier to move equipment to events.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Maine AgrAbilty's mission is to increase the likelihood that farmers, farm workers and farmfamily members with chronic health issues and disabilities will experience success inagricultural production. We work with individuals with disabilities and their families engaged inproduction agriculture. In addition these key groups of farmers and farm workers with disabilities, in Year 1 we have also focused efforts on these subsets of farmers: military veterans who farm and migrant farmworkers. In this grant cycle, the University of Maine Cooperative Extension (Extension) is continuing itspartnership with the non-profit organization Alpha One and is working with severalindependent contractors. Alpha One's project team consists of occupational therapists (OTs), occupational therapy assistants, independent living specialists and an architect. Thispartnership has been developed over nearly a decade and has enabled us to continue delivering AgrAbility programming in Maine. In addition, we partnered with three independentcontractors with occupational therapy, farming and education skills to enhance outreach anddirect client services (Goal I.A). During this past year, we have also concurrently been pursuingwork on our no-cost extension goals. These two plans of work closely overlap and created a more robust AgrAbility programming effort for Year 1, particularly in expanding programming to loggers and developing tools and materials for upcoming program years(Goal IV.A). During Year 1, we served 12 new clients (Goal I.A), continued to work with 9 existing clientsand closed 3 client cases (2 new and 1 existing clients between April 1, 2022 to March 31,2023). We provided technical resources for more than 232 people between July 2018 and June 2019 (Goal I.B). Methods of outreach and education include our website, press releases, andthe social media outlets of Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. We also provide articles for partner publications, particularly the Logger's Voice (a publication of the Professional Logging Contractors of Maine, circulation about 1,000) and Commercial Fisheries News (print and digital circulation of about 5,000 readers). One of our OTs was interviewed for WAGM-TV, a station located in Aroostook County, the hub of Maine commercial potato production. We also shared our monthly news and activities with other SRAP's by participating in the monthly e-Note published by the NAP. Maine AgrAbility worked with service providers across the state, reaching an increasinglydiverse audience, revisiting existing network partners to continue to increase capacity forAgrAbility work. We conducted educational outreach to VR personnel, AT partners, agriculture service providers and farmers about disability issues facing farmers and provide insight to farmculture. In particular, we conducted in-person training about AgrAbility at the four VR locations in the state, reaching 63 counselors. We also worked directly with farmers, to assist in navigating resources, exploring assistive technology ideas, and to coordinate recommendations to help them be successful. We have worked through network partners, extension educators, occupational health networks and word of mouth to increase awareness of Maine AgrAbility (Goal II.A). During the past year, we participated in 12 agriculture-related and 11 non-agricultural events. Of these events, 5 were veteran-specific, 5 logging-specific, 1 focused on the fishing industry, and 1 specific for migrant laborers in the blueberry industry. Through these events, we distributed brochures, booklets, rack cards, posters, and safety decals. In Year 1, we made over 200 direct contacts by talking and sharing information at events, meetings or workshops (Goal IV.A). As part of our partnership with MaineCite the Maine Assistive Technology Loan Program, the loan program purchased specific agriculture-related AT. This equipment has been featured inseveral of our exhibits to increase awareness of resources and AT available (Goal III.B). We continued to use these demonstration tools at proceeding exhibits throughout the year, and on farm during client visits. The equipment demonstrations and borrowing program allowed us to demonstrate the prosand cons of a specific tool or work modification on an individual basis. We co-hosted three fielddays at existing veteran owned farms to share project information and demonstrate a variety ofassistive technology (Goal II.B). AgrAbility staff brought specific AT based on the farm venue,and borrowed AT from the Maine AT Loan program for events based on the focus of the event. We provided education to network service providers and other professionals about AgrAbilityand our work with farmers to accommodate disabilities (Goal II.A). We have an established 10 person advisory council (Goal III.A), representing a diversebackground of professionals and farmers with knowledge of various disabilities and markets.Advisory council members represent farmers, fishermen, loggers, veterans, brain injury, assistive technology and department of labor interests. During the quarterly meetings the council provides AgrAbility programming guidance and direction. Additionally, during staff or advisory council meetings we invite network partners to come talk about their program and share our resources. Working with new advisory council members has opened doors to new audiences. We continue to work with the support and collaboration of NAP and other SRAPs. To helpAgrAbility staff continue to provide quality education and support to clients, we participated incontinuing education opportunities (Goal II.D) for staff such as the Virtual National TrainingWorkshops, AgrAbility all-staff conference calls and webinars. We are working with the outside evaluator to conduct evaluations in 2023. Due to schedule conflicts, this was not completed in 2022.

Publications

• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Outreach to Land and Sea Farmers to Meet Them Where They Are At Weisman, B. and A. Small, National Training Workshop.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Cultivating Post-Traumatic Growth and Community Reintegration, Martin, A., National Training Workshop.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Cultivating Student Partnerships, Lawrence, L., G. Mason, K. Niewolny, and K. Spencer, National Training Workshop.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: Working with Land and Sea Farmers Through the Lens of OT, Weisman, B. and K. Crosson, Maine Occupational Therapy Association Conference.