Progress 07/31/23 to 07/30/24

Outputs
Target Audience:The Texas AgrAbility project's primary target audience is farmers and ranchers with disabilities. This includes an emphasison theunderserved populations of beginning farmers, farmer veterans, and women in agriculture. Other target audiences include agricultures service providers (extension agents, rural agricultural professionals, USDApersonnel) healthcareservice providers (rehabiliation and health care providers, occupational therapists, disabilityorganizations) employment servicesproviders (vocational rehabilitation counselors, military veteran vocational services). Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Texas AgrAbility provides a 6-hour accredited continuing education course through Texas Occupational Therapy Association for occupational therapists working with farmers and ranchers with disabilities. The course was part of a presentation at the American Occupational Therapy Association Conference. This conference is the premiere occupational therapy training conference in the nation. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Results from our project impact are disseminated through quarterly advisory committee meetings and through a yearly impact brief. The brief is shared with stakeholders, advisory committee members, and the public through our website. Marketing materials for the project are disseminated to stakeholders and advisory committee members as well as distributed at events attended. The project was also highlighted as a presentation at the National AgrAbility conference. Project staff also made connections and collaborations with the Southwest Center for Agriculture Safety and Health, AgriSafe Network, Texas National Women in Agriculture Association, and Texas AgriWomen to help reach new underserved audiences. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Education Expected Outcomes Year 3 Expand the current OT course including videos on common tasks, associated hazards, and ergonomic interventions. Using webinar series recordings, 2 online courses will be developed & tailored for each audience (Service Providers & Specific Farmer Groups). Create & conduct service provider presentations face-to-face. Audiences will gain awareness & knowledge connected to enhanced understanding of services & programs available, early identification of services needed, accommodating disabilities, & preventing secondary injury in farmers with disabilities. Create & conduct farmer group presentations face-to-face. Audiences will gain awareness & knowledge connected to enhanced understanding of services & programs available, early identification of services needed, accommodating disabilities, & preventing secondary injury in farmers with disabilities. Total Farmer Health Coach will provide 3 QPR suicide prevention training specially tailored for each audience. Total Farmer Health Coach will develop TxAP Mental Health Crisis Planning (MHCP) Tool & protocol for client case management and train staff to use the tool & protocol with clients. Create and publish a fact sheet for women in agriculture to address disability and injury prevention. Networking Expected Outcomes Year 3 Conduct 4 listening peer group sessions with Total Farmer Health Coach & Texas A&M AgriLife Extension mental health agents Expand reach and posts to the women in agriculture community of interest to engage more women in agriculture with disabilities Collaborate with OT (University of St. Augustine) & Ag Engineering programs to enhance the reach of TxAP services Work with 1 OT student to expand services to Texas AgrAbility clients and educate therapists and health practitioners on Texas AgrAbility services and working with farmers and ranchers with disabilities Provide undergraduates & capstone students experiential opportunities working with TxAP clients to deliver services 2 videos developed with BVCIL (non-profit partner) to provide information for accessing assistive technology & disability services from Centers for Independent Living. AgriStress helpline is promoted through the Texas AgrAbility website, educational materials related to mental health, and in suicide prevention trainings Contribute monthly eNote (12) to National AgrAbility Project that includes client success stories, upcoming events, & initiatives of the project. Attend, exhibit, & present at 5 conferences & events targeted for individuals with disabilities, military veterans, & women in ag Maintain & expand the advisory committee (2 members/yr.) to include women in agriculture organizations, rural health practitioners, agriculture service providers, military veteran groups, mental health groups, & AgrAbility clients. Continue Quarterly Meetings of the advisory committee. Electronic communication &/or online meetings will be utilized as much as possible & annual membership satisfaction surveys. Utilizing the committee will increase awareness of TxAP programs & services available to agriculture & disability groups. Direct AssistanceExpected Outcomes Year 3 Provide individual consultation services to BattleGround to Breaking Ground program's veteran farmer participants through phone calls, emails, & web meetings. Regionally based assessment independent contractors will provide on-farm assessments using Texas AgrAbility assessment tool and protocol to expand services to clientele The Texas AgrAbility referral process is implemented and utilized to increase clients served through direct referrals from agency partners Develop & submit 1 funding proposal/yr. to enhance client services, provide clients expanded opportunities of funding assistive technology, & /or to enhance the sustainability of the TxAP project. Collaborate with project partners to secure fee for service contracts that provide additional funds to support client services & assist producers to acquire assistive technology. Marketing Expected Outcomes Year 3 Disseminate updated marketing materials that include services provided for women in agriculture. Disseminate marketing materials to partners, extension agents, & stakeholders through email, events, & PAC meetings. Implement the updated Texas AgrAbility project display which includes assistive tools & interactive elements (product). Develop and market 1 client testimonials through website & news media to highlight clients' success stories of using AgrAbility services. Create a social media marketing plan to include women in agriculture, military veterans, & mental health. Produce & disseminate TxAP newsletter monthly (12) that includes client success stories, events (including partner events), & assistive technology highlight. Create, disseminate, & post Texas AgrAbility Impact Brief annually through Texas AgrAbility website, PAC, & communities of interest.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Education Texas AgrAbility educated 52 farmers and ranchers with disabilities and agriculture services providers through online webinars (30 more expected for additional webinars to be conducted July 2024). Webinar topics include USDA FSA services, USDA NRCS services, Funding for Equipment for Injured military veterans, Vocational Rehabilitation Services, Grant Assistance for Farmers and Ranchers with disabilities. Results show enhanced competencies of farmers and ranchers with disabilities with attendees reporting a knowledge gain of 44% from pre to post and 4.7 out of 5 overall satisfaction. The Texas AgrAbility Course "Serving Farmworkers with Disabilities and Health Conditions" was launched to educate individuals working with farmworkers with disabilities and health conditions. 10 service providers of farmworkers enrolled in the course in Year 2with an average knowledge gain of 3.4 to 6.3 on a 10 point scale. Texas AgrAbility's Total Farmer Health Coach conducted 4 QPR suicide prevention trainings for agricultural communities, educating 36 individuals. The training provides resources and tools for preventing suicide for rural communities. Results show enhanced competencies of individuals working with rural agriculture populations with 100% of attendees reporting that they would directly raise questions of suicide with an individual showing signs after attending the training. Texas AgrAbilities Total Farmer Health Coach educated 300 community professionals (law enforcement, etc.) on stress awareness and mental health support for rural communities. Topics included QPR suicide prevention training and AgriStress Helpline support for rural communities. An educational fact sheet "Getting Started with TWC Vocational Rehab for self-employment in agriculture" was developed in collaboration with TWC VR. It provides processes and helpful resources for farmers andranchers with disabilities accessing vocational rehabilitation services for their farm and ranch operations. The fact sheet will be published & added to the Texas AgrAbility website for free download. An educational fact sheet "Stress Signs and Symptoms on the Farm" was developed by the Total Farmer Health Coach. Two in-person trainings were provided to 34 rural healthcare students and increased competencies for providing services to farmers and ranchers with disabilities. The hands-on training included conducting an agriculture worksite assessment, risk assessment, task modification recommendations, & assistive technology for agriculture operations. Texas AgrAbility provided training to 20 AgrAbility staff members & stakeholders at the National Training Workshop regarding peer support for farmers and ranchers with disabilities. The Texas AgrAbility Assessment Tool and Protocol was developed to educate Assessment Independent Contractors on providing on-farm assessments. This tool was utilized in a farm assessment training with Occupational Therapy students. The pilot for determining the effectiveness of the tool and quality of assessments for independent contractors will be conducted in year 3. 16 Occupational Therapists and rural health practitioners enrolled in the online course "Working with Farmers & Ranchers with Disabilities: An AgrAbility Resource for Occupational Therapy Practitioners". 8 participants completed the course in year 2for 6 credit hours through the Texas Occupational Therapy Association with a 38% knowledge gain. The Texas AgrAbility Course "Serving Farmworkers with Disabilities and Health Conditions" was launched to educate individuals working with farmworkers with disabilities. 10 service providers of farmworkers enrolled in the course with an average knowledge gain of 3.4 to 6.3 on a 10 point scale. Texas AgrAbility presented at five events and conferences for farmers, ranchers, and individuals with disabilities. Events included Brazos County 4H Camp, Polk County Growers Breakfast, AgrAbility National Training Workshop providing 156 educational hours. Networking Texas AgrAbility in collaboration with Texas A&M AgriLife Extension mental health agents conducted quarterly peer group calls. The group also includes a peer group map to facilitate engagement among members. There are currently 7 individuals participating in the peer group map and 17 members of the peer group. A Women in Agriculture interactive community of interest was launched and currently has 14 members. There are 34 posts in the group sharing resources. AgriSafe Network and the Southwest Center for Agriculture Safety andHealth provided Texas AgrAbility with educational materials for the AgriStress Helpline & safety for forestry workers. This mental health resource is available to farmers & ranchers in Texas andwas promoted through a suicide prevention trainings for agriculture service providers. The Texas AgrAbility Advisory committee expanded to include veterans emphasis program manager with USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service and AgriSafe Network outreach coordinator. Texas AgrAbility promoted programs at 7 events reaching 1451 individuals. Direct Assistance Individual consultative services were provided to 27 Texas AgrAbility clients. Services included referral to disability services resources and agriculture assistance programs. These services were also provided to 7 military veteran farmer participants through the BattleGround to Breaking Ground program. 3 onsite farm and ranch assessments were conducted for clients. Assessments include assistive technology recommendations, ergonomics and task modification, and farm safety considerations. Of those assessments 2 were referred to Vocational Rehabilitation for funding of agriculture assistive technology. An online referral tool was developed with input from Texas AgrAbility stakeholders to enhance referrals for farmers and ranchers with disabilities. Client information forms were made available through an easy-to-find tab on the Texas AgrAbility website. This will allow for real-time client intake and referral from partner organizations. A donation of funds was made available ($50,000) to start an equipment share program for veteran and Texas AgrAbility participants to utilize includingdifficult to source assistive equipment (quick connects, etc.). The equipment sharing program will be made available to Texas AgrAbility clients who are actively engaged in services, provide documentation, and complete a farm safety training. This program will allow clients to try equipment before purchasing to increase success of their farming operations. Marketing The Texas AgrAbility website was updated to a more user-friendly platform with easier menu navigation. Texas A&M AgriLife Extension will be providing a more updated version of the site to include accessibility features and mobile friendly navigation. An updated promotional brochure and display was created to include relevant imaging and services for women farmers and ranchers. 550 brochures and marketing materials were disseminated at promotional events and workshops. Additional tools and interactive elements were included as part of the project display at events. Elements include a spin the wheel to encourage participation in event booths. Texas AgrAbility booths saw an average of 70% more engagement at in-person events with interactive elements included. A client testimonial was filmed to highlight the work of Texas AgrAbility in collaboration with engineering capstone students through a farm or ranch assessment andassistive technology recommendations. The testimonial includes partnerships withBattleGround to Breaking Groundand supported services for farmers and ranchers with disabilities. A yearly impact brief was developed to highlight impacts of the project in 2023 and disseminated to stakeholders through the 25 member advisory committee and made available for viewing and download from the website.

Publications

Progress 07/31/22 to 07/30/23

Outputs
Target Audience:The Texas AgrAbility project's primary target audience is farmers and ranchers with disabilities. This includes an emphasis on the underserved populations of beginning farmers, farmer veterans, and women in agriculture. Other target audiences include agricultures service providers (extension agents, rural agricultural professionals, USDA personnel) healthcare service providers (rehabiliation and health care providers, occupational therapists, disability organizations) employment services providers (vocational rehabilitation counselors, military veteran vocational services). Changes/Problems:One issue the project has run into is sourcing grants for assistive technology that the project is eligible for. Through our state, most assistive technology grant programs are only eligible for individuals to apply. To mitigate this issue and still meet the goal of providing access to assistive technology, Texas AgrAbility has explored options for establishing a assistive technology loan program where donations can be made in-kind or monetarily to support the purchase of assistive devices. These devices can be loaned out to clients who meet eligibility criteria. This gives them access to assistive technology that is critical for their success until they can purchase the equipment or be funded through Vocational Rehab. Through exploration of mental health training options and with input from our advisory committee and project stakeholders, it was made aware that a shorter more succinct mental health training should be offered to training farm mangers and mentors. The project funded training for QPR for farm families to address this need instead of utilizing the Mental Health First Aid training. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The project has supported the training of a total farmer health coach through AgriSafe Network. The total farmer health coach was supported through training as a QPR instructor to provide suicide prevention trainings to farmers, ranchers, farm families, and healthcare and agriculture service providers. Two Texas AgrAbility team members were supported to complete the Texas Workforce Commission Vocational Rehabilitation Certified Business Technical Assistance Consultant training. This training will support Texas farmers and ranchers who are self-employed through business plan development and feasibility determination. By providing these services, Texas AgrAbility can support clients through the leverage of funding for agriculture assistive technology and business startup for farmers and ranchers with disabilities. Texas AgrAbility provides a 6-hour accredited continuing education course through Texas Occupational Therapy Association for occupational therapists working with farmers and ranchers with disabilities. The course was part of a presentation at the American Occupational Therapy Association Conference. This conference is the premiere occupational therapy training conference in the nation. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Results from our project impact are disseminated through quarterly advisory committee meetings and through a yearly impact brief. The brief is shared with stakeholders, advisory committee members, and the public through our website. Marketing materials for the project are disseminated to stakeholders and advisory committee members as well as distributed at events attended. Research results on the Texas AgrAbility course in collaboration with students from the University of St. Augustine was presented at the national AOTA conference. The project was also highlighted as a presentation at the National AgrAbility conference. Project staff also made connections and collaborations with the Southwest Center for Agriculture Safety and Health, AgriSafe Network, Texas National Women in Agriculture Association, and Texas AgriWomen to help reach new underserved audiences. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? The project will continue efforts to connect with women in agriculture organizations in order to increase client numbers. This will include joining women in agriculture organizations, sharing resources, and inviting representatives to advisory committee meetings. Texas AgrAbility staff have connected with University of St. Augustine OTD graduates to help facilitate capstone student project oversight. This will ensure that capstone students have the resources and expertise they need to complete internships and capstone projects to support Texas AgrAbility and our clientele. The project will offer mental health training through QPR for farm families to clients, program partners, extension agents, and rural health professionals to increase awareness of mental health support for farmers and ranchers. The project will further develop tools and training for farm managers and agrability independent contractors to conduct worksite assessments for individuals with disabilities in agriculture. This will enable clients in remote areas better access to farm assessment services by our project.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Education: Texas AgrAbility educated 64 farmers and ranchers with disabilities and agriculture services providers through online webinars. Webinar topics include mental health resources for farmers and ranchers with disabilities, peer support, resources to assist farmers and ranchers with disabilities, and vocational rehabilitation funding for agriculture operations. Results show enhanced competencies of agriculture and healthcare professionals to provide services to agriculture producers with disabilities with attendees reporting a knowledge gain of 44% from pre to post and 4.7 out of 5 overall satisfaction. Texas AgrAbility supported the training of a total farmer health coach and QPR instructor. The training will enable staff to provide suicide prevention training, secondary injury prevention education, and agriculture cultural competency to healthcare and agriculture service providers and laypeople. An educational fact sheet is being developed to provide a list of resources for farmers and ranchers with disabilities. The fact sheet will be disseminated to AgrAbility clients and those who serve farmers and ranchers with disabilities. It will be available for free download from our website. Two in-person trainings were provided to 34 healthcare students and 4 mentor training farmers to increase competencies for providing services to farmers and ranchers with disabilities. The hands-on training included conducting an agriculture worksite assessment, risk assessment, task modification recommendations, and assistive technology for agriculture operations. Texas AgrAbility provided training to 30 AgrAbility staff members and stakeholders at the National Training Workshop regarding inter-state collaboration opportunities for military veterans and beginning farmers and ranchers. Training materials and protocol were developed to educate Assessment Independent Contractors on providing on-farm assessments. 16 Occupational Therapists and rural health practitioners enrolled in the online course "Working with Farmers & Ranchers with Disabilities: An AgrAbility Resource for Occupational Therapy Practitioners". Eight participants completed the course for 6 credit hours through the Texas Occupational Therapy Association with a 38% knowledge gain. Networking Texas AgrAbility in collaboration with Texas A&M AgriLife Extension mental health agents piloted a peer network. With feedback from stakeholders, the network offers an opt-in map that includes information about agriculture operation, disability, and contact information. There are currently 3 individuals participating in the peer group map. Texas AgrAbility piloted the Peer Group for Farmers and Ranchers and conducted quarterly peer group meetings. Meetings include a topic of interest and time for discussion and resource sharing amongst the members. A Women in Agriculture interactive community of interest was launched and currently has 9 members. There are twenty-four posts in the group sharing resources and networking among members. AgriSafe Network and the Southwest Center for Agriculture Safety and Health provided Texas AgrAbility with educational and marketing materials for the AgriStress Helpline. This mental health resource is available to farmers and ranchers in Texas and was promoted through an educational webinar for agriculture service providers. There were 12 individuals in attendance of which, 23% were military veterans, 23% were beginning farmer ranchers, 23% were agriculture service providers, and 15% were women in agriculture. An overall satisfaction of 5 out of 5 was reported with 100% of attendees reporting they were likely to utilize the helpline in the future. Texas AgrAbility presented at five events and conferences for farmers, ranchers, and individuals with disabilities. Events include Mother Earth News Fair, Texas Farm Ranch & Wildlife Expo, Liberty County Veterans Resource Fair, AOTA, Wichita Falls Farm & Ranch Expo, and National Grape Growers Association Meeting. The Texas AgrAbility Advisory committee expanded to include women in agriculture member Kay Bell from the Texas National Women in Agriculture Association. Additional added members also include staff from AgriSafe Network and the Southwest Center for Agriculture Safety and Health. Direct Assistance Individual consultative services were provided to 19 Texas AgrAbility clients. Services included referral to disability services resources and agriculture assistance programs. These services were also provided to 13 military veteran farmer participants through the BattleGround to Breaking Ground program. 7 onsite farm and ranch assessments were conducted for clients. Assessments include assistive technology recommendations, ergonomics and task modification, and farm safety considerations. Of those assessments 3 were referred to Vocational Rehabilitation for funding of agriculture assistive technology. An online referral tool is being developed with input from Texas AgrAbility stakeholders to enhance referrals for farmers and ranchers with disabilities. Client information forms were made available through an easy-to-find tab on the Texas AgrAbility website. This will allow for real-time client intake and referral from partner organizations. An in-kind donation of assistive technology was procured to enable clients to see in-person the benefits of agriculture assistive technology. The quick connecting PTO was made part of the educational display at events and taken to onsite assessments. MARKETING The Texas AgrAbility website was updated to a more user-friendly platform with easier menu navigation. Texas A&M AgriLife Extension will be providing a more updated version of the site to include accessibility features and mobile friendly navigation. An updated promotional brochure and display was created to include relevant imaging and services for women farmers and ranchers. 550 brochures and marketing materials were disseminated at promotional events and workshops. Assistive tools and interactive elements were included as part of the project display at events. Tools include a quick connecting hitch, assistive tools, and ergonomically designed garden tools. A client testimonial is being filmed to highlight the process of working with Texas AgrAbility through a farm or ranch assessment and assistive technology recommendations. The testimonial will include partnerships with the BattleGround to Breaking Ground program and supported services for farmers and ranchers with disabilities. A yearly impact brief was developed to highlight impacts of the project in 2022 and disseminated to stakeholders through the 25 member advisory committee and made available for viewing and download from the website.

Publications