Progress 09/01/24 to 08/31/25

Outputs
Target Audience:AgrAbility Virginia holds a strong record in addressing the safety, health, and wellness of Virginia farmers through educational programs; rehabilitative and assistive technology services; community-engaged outreach; and networking with agricultural, healthcare, and disability service organizations and agencies. With this foundation, the overall aim of AgVa is to assist and build the capacity of farmers who have illnesses, injuries, or disabilities by promoting safety, health, wellness, and accessibility on the farm. AgVa will continue to achieve this aim by enhancing program effectiveness through targeted efforts to address key project goals:1) Enhance direct services for farmers with disabilities in Virginia through 1862-1890 Land Grant University (LGU) partnership with particular emphasis on military veterans; 2) Expand quality of life education and direct support in rural communities through the Virginia Agriculture Mobile Education Unit; 3) Strengthen programming and outreach focused on farm safety and farm-related stress in collaboration with the Virginia Farmer Stress Partnership; and 4) Advance education, networking, and outreach efforts centered on the human-centered design of affordable assistive technologies for farmers. The AgrAbility Virginia project (AgVA) is a partnership between Virginia Tech (VT), Virginia State University (VSU), Virginia Cooperative Extension (VCE), Easterseals Port Health (ES), and several public and private agencies in the state of Virginia. We have accumulated an enviable record of servingfarmers with disabilitiesin Virginia and theservice providerswho are required to best support their needs. In Y2, theproject team continued to support farmers in the changing face of agriculture in Virginia. The partnership is dedicated to providing the best support possible to Virginia farmers with disabilities, injoury, and illnesses. Historically, the project focused on modifying farm and ranch operations, adapting assistive technologies as needed, improving farmstead accessibility, providing financial counseling, identifying funding sources, coordinating community services, and developing and delivering educational materials and programs on the prevention of secondary and primary farm injuries. In addition to supporting our farmer clients during this reporting period, we have focused on outreach and education to the public to include farmers and service providers, to increase health, safety, and wellness on the farm:published one magazine article, a public radio segment, and two TV interviews. We have written two additional resources on assistive technologies and safety on the farm inpartnership with health sciences graduate students from Mary Baldwin University Murphy Deming College of Health Sciences (MDCHS), the Virginia Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services (DARS), and the Wilson Workforce and Rehabilitation Center (WWRC) with an expected publication date of August 2025. We have continued to conduct outreach to agricultural service providers who serve our target audience as well as to students, community members, and our audience of farmers and gardeners across the state. We have conducted outreach by tabling and presenting in a total of thirty-four venues, virtually and in person. We have also produced two newsletters published in January and May 2025. The next newsletter will be published in August 2025.The Virginia Agriculture Mobile Education Unit is an engaging, interactive resource that reaches our target audience, including farmers,K-12 students, and families, to gain an understanding of Virginia's agricultural landscape and current innovations. AgVa features one of the Unit's ten educational displays, offering targeted information on farm safety, health, and wellness. During Y2, the Mobile Educational Unit traveled to over 25 sites and reached more than 7,000 youth and adult visitors from both within Virginia and out of state. Target Audince Feedback/AgrAbility Virginia Farmer Clients: "I really do appreciate everything you guys do. -Richard "I think that AgrAbility Virginia does a pretty good job. I was impressed. Everyone was knowledgeable. Everyone is willing to reach out and help. I felt really good about it. I feel like we have a really good program here in Virginia." -Anonymous "Yeah, I mean, I think knowing that there's somebody there to help you and to direct you. I think that's a big help.I can pick up the phone and call Jeremy or Roberto and say, 'Hey! I don't know how to go about this.'- Craig "One of the things that AgrAbility have done for me is teach me how to harvest, how to get down and up in the field, and now I am gonna start investing in assistive devices so I can move a little faster and be able to help my wife and son [on the farm]. From a medical standpoint, farming has given me longevity because of depression and everything else I am going through. Now, I can get out, be active, and interact with the community." - Bobby(MilitaryVeteran) Changes/Problems:Key Personnel Changes: Dr. Alex Leonessa and Dr. Brianna Posadas have recently left Virginia Tech and are no longer able to serve on the AgrAbility Virginia team. We are pleased to share that Dr. Smrutilipi Hota has been recruited and is currently being onboarded as a new Co-PI to fill the needs we seek. Dr. Hota brings valuable expertise in human factors and agricultural engineering, ergonomics, occupational safety, and extension education. These are the faculty skills that align strongly with the goals and needs of our program, previously held by Dr. Leonessa and Dr. Posadas. Dr. Hota's Biosketch, Conflict of Interest (COI) form, and Current and Pending documentation are included in our Year 3 Continuation submission. Budget Changes: The Year 3 budget has been updated to reflect key personnel changes: the removal of Dr. Leonessa and Dr. Posadas, and the addition of Dr. Smrutilipi Hota. In addition, per USDA-NIFA's request, we included an additional $500 in the Year 3 budget, bringing the total to $183,500. These additional funds have been designated to supportfarmer needs through direct services. Assurance Statement: No changes to report. Our Virginia Tech Institutional Review Board (IRB) protocol (FWA00000572) and IRB NUMBE (21-014) are still compliant for Y3. Partnerships listed in 2023 Objectives:The Center for Advanced Innovation in Agriculture (CAIA) and the Terrestrial Robotics Engineering & Controls (TREC) Lab are no longer in operation at Virginia Tech; however, our team is bringing Dr. Hota on board to support assistive technology needs and education to meet our stated goals. Additionally, DARS and Mary Baldwin University have increased their participation to also meet our education and direct asstince goals for low-cost assistive technologies for farmers. Select Examples of AgrAbility Virginia Farm-level Cost Savings: a) In 2024, our team worked with Mr. Bailey, who was experiencing increasing difficulty and safety concerns while attempting to fill a large chemical mixing tank on his truck using a 5-gallon bucket. Recognizing the potential risk and inefficiency of this method, AgrAbility Virginia supported this farmer in securing a $1,100 grant through the Bellow's Fund in 2025. With these funds, he purchased and installed an electric chemical transfer pump on the rear of his truck. This adaptive solution has significantly improved operational efficiency and enhanced safety. The $1,110 savings have yielded continued economic benefits, enabling the farmer to continue farming with greater ease and reduced physical strain. b) Mr. Grant was referred to AgrAbility Virginia by the Department of Aging and Rehabilitative Services (DARS) in 2024 following a stroke that impacted his ability to manage farm tasks independently. Seeking assistive technology (AT) to support his cattle operations, this farmer was able to access $5,000 in AT resources through our collaborative efforts with DARS. This support enabled the acquisition of several key modifications, including an agri-speed hitch for his flex-wing mower, enhanced steps for his tractor, vehicle accessibility adaptations, and a model hooper range cattle feeder that facilitates feeding directly from his truck. AgrAbility Virginia's direct assistance helped this farmer save $5000 to maintain and stabilize his cattle operation. c) AgrAbility Virginia became acquainted with Mr. Boden under challenging circumstances following a severe automobile accident. The farmer expressed interest in acquiring a track chair to assist with mobility; however, the cost of a new unit, $28,000, posed a substantial financial barrier. Our team was able to research and identify a pr-owned track chair that met his needs to continue farming. This farmer was ultimately able to purchase the device for approximately $10,000, representing a significant cost savings of $18,000, and an essential step toward regaining mobility and independence to continue farming. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?In addition to our own staff's professional development during this reporting period, we have provided significant opportunities for training and professional development for agricultural service providers and farmers: These activities have included training presentations at eight conferences and two workshops, including the Virginia Farm-to-Table conference 2024, 2024 Virginia Rural Health Voice Conference, 2025 AgrAbility National Training Workshop, 2025 Annual Virginia Association for Biological Farming Conference, Small Farm Outreach Program (SFOP) Summit, 2025 VCE Winter Conference, 2025 Farm Safety Day, and the Whole Health, Whole Communities: Dialogues to Reduce Rural Health Disparities Symposium, among others. Additionally, in Y2, we continue maintaining and growing the AgrAbility Virginia Network (AVN), a community and listserv made up of program partners. The AVN serves to connect agricultural service providers with disability service providers in a more effective way than the Rural Rehab Partnership which we hosted in previous years. The listserv is intended to enhance communication and provide opportunities for professional development among the group of stakeholders across the state who support, advise, and engage with the AgVA including those providing technical assistance, support services andeducationon issues of safety, health, wellness, and accessibility in agricultural communities. Staff training:In Y2, staff continued to participate in monthly project meetings, which included program updates and technical assistance support. Staff members participate in quarterly All Staff Meetings hosted by the National AgrAbility Project (NAP) (virtual). Staff (n=3) and farmers (n=2) also attended NAP's National Training Workshop in spring 2025 in Las Cruces, NM. The program coordinator and field staff, Jeremy Daubert, also participated in the 2025 Farm Safety Day in Harrisonburg, Virginia, providing insight into farm safety risks and farm stress considerations. The program coordinator completed the QPR Gatekeeper suicide prevention training from the AgriSafe network designed specifically for agricultural communities. In Y2, our program coordinator also participated in several follow-up farmer-focused training courses on suicide prevention, work safety, and farm stress management offered by QPR through the AgriSafe network. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?We have disseminated our results to communities of interest through presentations, through our website and online resources, through outreach at in-person and other events, through social media, through brochure mailings, and through our newsletter.Presentations: We presented at conferences in-person and three virtual webinars, including the 2025 AgrAbility National Training Workshop (in-perosn), 2025 Virginia Cooperative Extension Winter Conference (in-person) ; AgrAbility Zoom Discussion: Exoskeletons in Agriculture (virtual); Agriculture, Food,and Human Values Cofnernece roundtable on farm saftey and labor (in-person), Farm Credit Employees Farm Stress Virtual Training (virtual), and the ELPC Webinar Farm Dinner Theater (virtual).Other outreach presentations. We also gave four informal presentations about AgrAbility for the VT Agricultural and Life Sciences course in Fall 2024 and Spring 2025, the 2024 VCE Meal with the Rockingham County Board of Supervisors, and the 2025 Rockingham VCE Breakfast with Legislators.Outreach events: We tabled and conducted outreach at twenty-six in-person events; a 34% participation increase from Y1: 1. National Urban Ag conference, 2. MEU Rockingham County Fair, 3. A Taste of Randolph Farm 2024 VSU College of Ag Field Day, 4. Wise County 4th Grade Ag Day, 5. VT Center for Food Systems and Community Transformation 5-year Anniversary, 6. Farm Bureau Annual Meeting, 7. Gregg Adams Retiree Appreciation Day, 8. Esther Manor Farm-to-Table Event, 9. Cargill Safey Day, 10. Virginia State Fair, 11. MEU Cattleman Association, 12. MEU Shenandoah University, 13. MEU Community Pride Day at King and Queen Central High School, 14. VSU Farm Fest tabled, 15. 2024 Virginia Rural Health Voice Conference, 16. Small Farm Outreach Program Summit, 17. Virginia Farm Bureau Federation 2024 Annual Conference, 18. Virginia Farm-to-Table Conference, 19. 2025 Virginia Biological Farming Conference, 20. Farm Safety Day, 21. MEU 6th Grade Health and PE students at Amelia County Middle School, 22. 2025 VSU Ag Fest, 23. 2025 Virginia Beef Expo, 24. Whole Health, Whole Communities: Dialogues to Reduce Rural Health Disparities Symposium, 25. VSU Farmers Field Day, 26. 2025 Virginia Dairy Expo.Website & Online Resources: In Y2, we made a concerted effort to bring our social media up to date and increase our web presence. Activities related to this have included maintaining our website by continually adding newly created resources and a new series of farmer highlights, "Tech Tuesday" posts, "Safety Sunday" posts, updating our Facebook page and Instagram account with regular news blasts, and farm safety and stress articles. We shared farmer highlights through all these venues, including photos and videos describing the farmers, their illness, injury, or disability, their work with AgrAbility and other partners like DARS, and the outcomes of the service provided.Social Media: From August 1st, 2024, to July 11th, 2025, our outreach coordinator has updated our Facebook and Instagram accounts with 105 new posts and stories. We had a total post reach of 3,365 on Facebook and 576 on Instagram. Our Facebook account has 842 followers (3% increase), and our Instagram account has 519 followers (5% increase). In Y2, we started a weekly "Tech Tuesday" which is an Assistive Technology highlight where we share novel technologies hitting the market or already available. In these highlights, we include a tool description, how to use it and who may benefit based on their disability. Additionally, we post "Safety Sundays," sharing news articles and posts related to farm safety, health, and wellness. Publications and Media: We have one magazine publication through the Farm Bureau News Virginia, two TV interviews, and one public radio interview. These publication include: 1 magazine article on our farm dinner theater programming titled "Farm Dinner Theaters: A Clever Way to Talk about Farm Safety and Wellness" published at the Farm Bureau News Virginia. Our field staff member, Jeremy Daubert, was interviewed by local TV station WDBJ 7 to highlight our farm dinner theater program as part of the segment "Grown Here at Home: Help for Farmers Struggling with Their Mental Health." Additionally, Jeremy participated in a radio interview segment called "Farming is Hard, but Support for Farmers' Mental Health is Available" on WMRA Public Radio. He highlighted the significance of mental health support for farmers and discussed the challenges they encounter due to the existing stigma around mental health issues. Furthermore, WHSV 3, a local TV channel, interviewed our field staff member, Jeremy Daubert, for a TV segment titled "Kids Learn About Agriculture Safety." The interview aimed to uplift the Farm Safety Day event and to stress the importance of teaching Mennonite and other farm youth about farm safety. Kids learn about agriculture safety. Additionally, AgVA collaborated with undergraduate and graduate students at Virginia Tech to create audio and video materials for the digital literacy project to support farmers with setting up bank accounts and avoiding online scams (expected publication Augst, 2025). In Y2, we conducted the AgVa biannual program evaluation, which has been accepted by VCE Publications: AgrAbility Virginia Program Evaluation Brief: 2025 Survey & Interview Results (VCE Publication No. ALCE-325).Farmers' Dinner Theatre Dissemination:In Y2, AgVa, in collaboration with VCE, presented a session titled Farm Dinner Theater: A Novel Approach to Farm Safety at the 2025 AgrAbility National Training Workshop on March 24 - 27, 2025. The session showcased what a farm dinner theater is and how to implement it from the ground up. Additionally, it will cover potential benefits and outcomes of the program in farming communities. Additionally, our team had a virtual presentation, one radio and one TV interview, and a published magazine article on our Farm Dinner Theater programming for farmer mental health. The Farm Dinner Theatres celebrate rural farming culture and values in a fun and safe environment over a meal. They deal with farm health, stress, and safety problems touching local farm families and communities.Virginia State University Mobile Educational Unit: The MEU is an engaging and interactive resource that showcases the state's agriculture and forestry industries. Visitors and K-12 students will learn the importance and diversity of Virginia's agriculture landscape, learn about its history, and explore the latest innovations that contribute to our food production and where our food comes from. The MEU visits schools and participates in Agricultural events within and out of the state. We would like to highlight a recent MEU visit to the Amelia County Middle School as part of its outreach efforts for 6th graders health and PE students in March 2025. AgrAbility Virginia is honored to have a display booth within the Unit. Our display booth video will be updated with new farmers video highlights for Y3. During Y2, the MEU visited 25 sites with over 7,000 visitors ranging from youth to adults. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We will continue to emphasize a collaborative approach in Y3,intentionally coordinating activities for maximize impact. Objective 1:Education Activities: VT faculty will review, revise, and update existing publications (brochures, fact sheets, etc.). ES and VT will upkeep the AgVa website by adding news, farmers highlights, assistive technologies posts, events, successes, and publications. ES will continue to add at least 2 success stories representing underserved farming groups each year. VT, VSU, and ES will deliver culturally appropriate information to clients and their families electronically, individually, and with the VSU-SFOP's Mobile Agricultural Education Unit. VT faculty will collaborate with Mary Baldwin Murphy Deming College of Health Sciences graduate students in the health sciences (PT, OT, PA) in creating educational resources and materials that highlight AT and provide education on injury prevention and healthy movement. AgVa team will collaborate with the Virginia Farm Stress Partnership, the Virginia Beginning Farmer and Rancher Coalition, and the VT Center for Food Systems and Community Transformation to provide targeted webinars on health and farm safety as critical issues for farming groups with disabilities with special outreach to military veteran farmers. VT faculty will publish new and update educational materials dealing with chronic health issues, accessibility, and health and wellness on the farm. VT faculty will update existing and create new educational materials to familiarize farmers with risky and hazardous agricultural activities and ways to avoid primary/secondary injuries, including those related to stress and farm safety issues and contexts. The AgVa mobile educational unit team will disseminate appropriate strategies for clients and their families to reduce the risk of primary/secondary injuries on the farm. VT faculty will develop new publications on affordable assistive technologies and adaptations to farm machinery in partnership with DARS and other partners. VT, VSU, and ES will develop and distribute professional development materials to AVN personnel. These publications will also be posted on AgVa's website, VCE's statewide publications library, and shared with NAP's listserv and NAP staff for NAP website. VT, VSU, and ES, together will organize professional development training sessions on accommodating disabilities in agriculture AVN professionals at their programs and conferences. In collaboration with AgriSafe, enhance current comprehensive Farm Stress Partnership programming with Farm Dinner Theater toolkit and offerings for all farm audiences, farm stress trainings co-led by AgVa team members specifically for miliary veterans, Mental Health First Aid trainings, and farm stress and wellness professional development for extension and agricultural providers. Objective 2:Networking Activities: VT-VSU maintains an active directory of clients and actively follows up with farmers monthly. ES, VSU, and VT will meet with the advisory group twice/year to build capacity internally and externally related to AgVa current network of partnerships. ES, in coordination with VT and VSU, will distribute newsletters to the AgVa listserv and monthly e-Notes to NAP, to build awareness and strength partnerships. ES will update the directory of AVN members and distribute to encourage networking. AgVa will provide informal networking sessions and virtual 'office hours' opportunities for AVN members to meet with AgVa staff to ask questions, discuss cases, propose new publications, projects, or partnerships. ES will post AgVa farmer highlights (with farmer consent) on AgVa website to promote program successes for reference by other farmers, AVN members, and the general public. VT, VSU, and ES together will network with the hospitals in Virginia, community health clinics, and county extension offices. VT and ES, in partnership with the AgriSafe Network, will target VA Community Service Boards, Centers for Independent Living, and Community Health Workers (in collaboration with the Institute for Public Health Innovation) to provide educational resources and opportunities for further learning to social workers, community mental health providers, and community health workers. VT, VSU, and ES together expand the network with other agricultural organizations such as VDACS, USDA-FSA, and NRCS and familiarize them with the AgVa program. ES will send letters to promote the program twice annually to 200 Virginia agriculture teachers and other target groups (e.g., large animal veterinarians, physical therapists, community health workers) to inform them of AgVa services and provide information about making a referral. VT and VSU with ES will collaborate with the VBFRC to identify and recruit veterans with disabilities who are interested in farming and ranching. VSU will take primary responsibility to provide support and cohort education for all identified veterans with disabilities, led by VSU Military Veteran Program Assistant, Tony Edwards. Objective 3:Direct Assistance Activities: VT-VSU (as Extension) will reach broader stakeholder groups and AVN feedback to streamline and improve the referral and initial screening procedures. VT-VSU will seek assistance from VBFRC, VCE county agents, regional hospitals, and rural health clinics for case referrals. VT-VSU conduct site-visits, develop recommendations, and make referrals to other agencies. VT-VSU field staff will meet once monthly to coordinate services and discuss client management. VT and VSU will work with and support DARS to ensure that clients receive AT support. VT engineers will collaborate as needed to design AT prototypes to meet AgVa clients' needs. Examples may include a low-cost lift for small tractors or affordable flexible robotics. Based on assessments, VT-VSU will engage appropriate collaborators to provide appropriate technical assistance as needed addressing quality of life goals set by farmers. VSU-SFOP will take the lead in reaching clients and farming groups through use of our ADA compliant mobile educational trailer unit, in addition to co-hosting workshops at VSU Randolph Farm, as an engaged strategy to better reach farmers where they live. VT and VSU will collaborate to maintain a new AT lending library to reach farmers with disabilities, injuries, and/or illnesses through leveraged USDA-FSA funding housed at VT. AgVA conducted a program evaluation in Y2 to evaluate direct services and related program aims. Next evaluation will be in Y4. Objective 4:Marketing Activities: AgVa team will continue to develop a comprehensive strategy to market AgVa programs and AT Fund through Extension, Virgina Tech Foundation, and AVN partners. ES will make presentations and have displays and distribute literature to publicize the AgVa program through disability services community. VT faculty will leverage VT College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and VT College of Engineering Foundations and faculty to seek additional resources to enhance programming and reach for human-centered design AT needs for farmers. AgVa team will support and implement marketing initiatives and strategies led by NAP. VT-VSU will use a mobile AT Lending Center ("Library") to market and provide example AT tools to AgrAbility clients through leveraged USDA-FSA funding initiative housed at VT. VT and ES will manage and grow the AgVa AT funds through targeted fund-raising campaigns. Attend events and conferences hosted by and attended by AVN partners (including conferences related to healthcare and rural health) and NAP to market NAP and AgVa and encourage referrals. Attend events and conferences hosted by farming groups and attended by farmers (e.g. the Farm Bureau Annual Meeting and the Virginia Association for Biological Farming conference) to provide information about NAP and AgVa and encourage referrals (including self-referrals).

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Current AgVa Project goals: 1) Enhance direct services to farmers with disability in Virginia through the 1862-1890 Land Grand University partnership with emphasis on military veterans; 2) Expand quality of life education and direct support in rural communities through theMobile Education Unit; 3) Strengthen programming and outreach focused on farm safety and farm-related stress in collaboration with the Virginia Farmer Stress Partnership; and 4) Advance education, networking, and outreach efforts centered on the human-centered design of affordable assistive technologies for farmers. Each goal is addressed through our objectives: Education Objective.A. Conference and Outreach Presentations: We presented at numerous conferences in-person and virtual webinars (e.g., the 2025 AgrAbility National Training Workshop). We also tabled at 26 in-person events; a 34% participation increase from Y1. B. Other Outreach Presentations: We offered several AgVa presentations (e.g. Rockingham VCE Breakfast with Legislators). C. Publications: 1 magazine publication, 2 TV interviews, and 1 radio interview. Additionally, AgVA collaborated to create a video as part of a digital literacy project. D. Mary Baldwin University Partnership: We partnered with students from Mary Baldwin University's Murphy Deming College of Health Sciences to createExtension publications to guide occupational and physical therapists working with farmers. To be published in August 2025. E. Higher Education: In Y2, AgVa supported three college students at Virginia Tech (2) and Radford University (1) in creating class projects highlighting our program. These connections evolved into 2 students volunteering with AgVa. Moreover, AgVa collaborated with 2 graduate and 2 undergraduate students at Virginia Tech on a digital literacy project. We also guest lectured at the VT Agricultural and Life Sciences course in Fall 2024 and Spring 2025 (n=51). F. Farm Safety, Health, and Wellness Training: In Y2, trainings included two Farm Dinner Theater sessionsfocused on "how-to"strategies for service providers, and one Farm Stress and Suicide Prevention session. G.In Y2, Dr. Leonessa did not offer his senior design course to VT students. H. Mobile Educational Unit (MEU): In Y2, the MEU traveled to over 25 sites and reached more than 7,000 youth and adult visitors from both within Virginia and out of state. Networking ObjectiveA. The AgVa Network members list was revised and updated to reflect new connections and reconnect with agricultural and disability service providers who support, advise, and engage with the AgVa. B. Department of Aging and Rehabilitative Services (DARS) counselors, engineers, and occupational therapists in Y2 collaborated with AgVa to identify assistive technologies appropriate for farmer clients. In Y2, AgVa made a concerted effort to connect with DARS counselors and rehabilitation engineers to improve our visualization, communication, education on our services, and direct service to our clients. C. Virginia Cooperative Extension (VCE) agents became more involved in our program, thanks to AgVa's close collaboration with them during Y2. We provided materials on farm stress, suicide prevention, and the Farm Dinner Theater program. The AgVa program coordinator strengthened our partnership by supplying resources to VCE agents and participated in extension meetings to explore collaboration. These efforts led to successful partnerships with the VCE Advancing Well-Being Program and the Page County Food System Initiative. D. AgriSafe Network during Y2, as part of the Virginia Farmer Stress Partnership, we have increased statewide outreach on the Farm Stress Hotline, educational materials, and Farm Stress, Wellness, and Suicide Prevention Education for VCE Professionals. In Y2, the AgriSafe Network invited our program coordinator to be part of the AgriStress Helpline All-States Marketing Team meetings. E. Virginia Beginning Farmer & Rancher Coalition (VBFRC) continues to be a key partner, with strongfuture collaborative initiatives that align with the goals of AgVa.F. VT Center for Food System and Community Transformation (CFSCT). AgVa has partnered with the VT CFSCT and the VSU-SFOP to address the accessibility and on-farm safety education needs of farmers with disabilities, particularly those operating on small acreage. G. Virginia Agricultural Laborer Health, Safety, and Wellness Team:During Y2, AgVa continued its partnership with the "Research to Practice Initiative to Increase Agricultural Laborer Health, Safety, and Wellness in Virginia." In Y2, activities included farm safety and wellness training for agricultural laborers in Virginia's wine and pine tree industries. In Y3, AgVa staff are collaborating to disseminate the initiative's results throughjournal article, conference presentations, and newly refined farm saftey trainings. Direct Assistance Objective.In Y2, we provided direct services to 46 farmers as of July 11th, 2025, which included conducting new and ongoing client site visits. We also provided services via phone and email to an additional 18 farmers or farmers' families, for a total of 64 farmer clients. A. Famer Clients: In Y2, our team worked with farming operations of all sizes across Virginia. The most common types of operations included beef and dairy farms, followed by vegetable and poultry farms. The primary disabilities reportedincluded back and knee injuries, vision loss, age-related limitations, amputations, and PTSD. The most frequently requested forms of assistance were small-scale assistive technologies, tractor steps, and tractor lifts. B. Advisory Group:Our 8-member advisory group plays a crucial role in guiding our program as we deliver direct services to our clients. Our Y2 meeting occurred in April 2025, and the next meeting is scheduled for early Fall 2025. Additionally, in Y2, we welcomed a new member to the advisory group.C. Program Evaluation: In Y2, we conducted a statewide program evaluation to assess quality of life, farm stress, and other program. Results indicate overall satisfaction with the program, with farmers reporting that they experienced higher metrics of quality of life and felt supported by AgVa. Service providers responded positively, offering insights for reaching farmer clients. Marketing Objective.A. Website & Online Resources: In Y2, we updated our resources and publications and added two farmer highlights to our page. Since August 2024, we have received 2,568 page views from 1,778 website users, reflecting a 29% increase in users compared to Y1. B. Social Media: In Y2, we actively updated our Facebook and Instagram platforms with regular news blasts, including a weekly "Tech Tuesday" and "Safety Sunday." We also contributedto NAP e-Notes, featuring client stories,and program highlights. In Y2, we had 1361 followers across our two social media accounts. We updated our Facebook and Instagram pages with 105 new posts and stories (106% increase), with a maximum post reach of 3,365 (53% increase) on Facebook and a maximum post reach of 576 on Instagram (47% increase). This increase in followers and views is a direct result of our concerted efforts to boost AgVa's visibility on social media platforms. C. Newsletter: AgVa published e-newsletters in January and May 2025, with the next issue scheduled for August 2025. We shared updates on current AgVa events, farmers' highlights, available resources, and upcoming activities with the AgVa listserv (192 recipients and 66% viewing rate).D. Publicity/Outreach: Our Farm Safety and Wellness kit includes mental health and safety publications from AgVa and AgriSafe Network, personal protective equipment, and outreach materials. In Year 2, we distributed the kit to event volunteers, VCE agents, and Virginia legislators, among others to promote AgVa's work. We also mailed kits to educate farmers affected by Hurricane Helene.

Publications

• Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: Amano Dolan, C. (2024, September 24). Farm Dinner Theaters: A Clever Way to Talk about Farm Safety and Wellness. Farm Bureau News Virginia, September. pag. 20. https://issuu.com/virginiafarmbureau/docs/fbn_sep24_pages.
• Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: Payne, N. (2024, September 9). Jeremy Daubert: Grown Here at Home: Help for Farmers Struggling with Their Mental Health. WDBJ7. https://www.wdbj7.com/2024/09/09/grown-here-home-help-farmers-struggling-with-their-mental-health/
• Type: Other Status: Other Year Published: 2024 Citation: Pirge, A. (2024, December 4). Jeremy Daubert: Farming is Hard, but Support for Farmers' Mental Health is Available. WMRA Public Radio. https://www.wmra.org/2024-12-04/farming-is-hard-but-support-for-farmers-mental-health-is-available?fbclid=IwY2xjawJ-EKtleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBicmlkETE1U1hnSXRsTFNJSjhoV1k4AR5mlCS6Kcp5xTD3LXqMaxlJtpp7VH0gDmWcDl1dDd0uqu3mikiKYvoWiT2Ojg_aem_MRjJFyJa7Vv-PngEH9-GDQ.
• Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: Shelby Martin. (2025, March 29). Jeremy Daubert: "Kids Learn About Agriculture Safety." Interview. WHSV 3. https://www.whsv.com/2025/03/29/kids-learn-about-agriculture-safety/
• Type: Other Journal Articles Status: Accepted Year Published: 2025 Citation: Franco, R., Niewolny, K., Crutchfield, W., Robertson, T., Daubert, J., Edwards, J., and Lawrence, L. 2025. AgrAbility Virginia Program Evaluation Brief: 2025 Survey & Interview Results (VCE Publication No. ALCE-325). Blacksburg, VA: Virginia Cooperative Extension. In Press.
• Type: Other Journal Articles Status: Awaiting Publication Year Published: 2025 Citation: Jessica Spence, Ellie Bowman, Jennifer Hersee, Yaw Akowuah, and Roberto Franco. 2025. Setting Up a Bank Account  For Farmers and Farmworkers [Audio Recording]. Virginia Tech. In Press.
• Type: Other Journal Articles Status: Awaiting Publication Year Published: 2025 Citation: Jessica Spence, Ellie Bowman, Jennifer Hersee, Yaw Akowuah, and Roberto Franco. 2025. How to Avoid Internet Scams - For Farmers and Farmworkers [Video]. Virginia Tech. In Press.
• Type: Other Journal Articles Status: Other Year Published: 2025 Citation: Holder, R., Graves, E., Dotson, L., Wall, W., Mason, G., Drescher, P., Allen, J., Franco, R., Niewolny, K. 2025. Occupational Therapy: How to Meet the Needs of Farmers. (VCE Publication). Blacksburg, VA: Virginia Cooperative Extension. In press.
• Type: Other Journal Articles Status: Other Year Published: 2025 Citation: Holder, R., Graves, E., Dotson, L., Wall, W., Mason, G., Nelson, G., Franco, R., Niewolny, K. 2025. Physical Therapy: How to Meet the Needs of Farmers. (VCE Publication). Blacksburg, VA: Virginia Cooperative Extension. In Press.

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

Outputs
Target Audience:Target audiences?include individuals, groups, market segments, or communities that will be served by the project. Where appropriate, you should also identify population groups such as racial and ethnic minorities and those who are socially, economically, or educationally disadvantaged. Efforts?include acts or processes that deliver science-based knowledge to people through formal or informal educational programs. Examples include: formal classroom instruction, laboratory instruction, or practicum experiences; development of curriculum or innovative teaching methodologies; internships; workshops; experiential learning opportunities; extension and outreach. The AgrAbility Virginia project (AgVA) is a partnership between Virginia Tech (VT), Virginia State University (VSU), Virginia Cooperative Extension (VCE), Easterseals UCP (ES), and several public and private agencies in the state of Virginia. We have accumulated an enviable record for serving farmers and farm family members with disabilities in Virginia. This project continued to support farmers in the changing face of agriculture in Virginia. The partnership was dedicated to providing the best support possible to Virginia farmers with disabilities and illnesses. Historically, the project focus has been on modifying farm and ranch operations, adapting assistive technologies as needed, improving farmstead accessibility, providing financial counseling, identifying funding sources, coordinating community services, developing, and delivering educational materials and programs on the prevention of secondary and primary farm injuries. In addition to supporting our farmer clients during this reporting period, we have published one resource through the Virginia Journal of Public Health aimed at service providers, and a magazine article. We are writingthree additional resources in partnership with health sciences graduate students from Mary Baldwin University Murphy Deming College of Health Sciences (MDCHS) and the Virginia Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services (DARS). We have continued to conduct outreach to agricultural service providers who serve our target audience as well as to students, community members, and to our audience of farmers and gardeners across the state. We have conducted outreach by tabling and presenting in eighteen venues, virtually and in person, with one event scheduled for August. We have also produced a newsletter published in August 2023. The next newsletter will publish in July 2024. Changes/Problems:Key Personnel Changes: The statewide coordinator position has changed from Garland Mason to Roberto Franco. Mr. Roberto Franco took over as interim coordinator in May 2023, after Garland Mason left Virgnia Tech. He fully resumed the AgrAbility Virgina coordinator role in January 2024. Please see our included COI, Current and Pending, and Biosketch for Roberto Franco. Budget Changes: The Y2 budget has not changed. Assurance Statement: No changes to report. Our Virginia Tech Institutional Review Board (IRB) protocol (FWA00000572) and IRB NUMBE (21-014) are still compliant for Y2. Team: Dr. Alex Leonessa was on research leave during Y1 but still a member of the AgVA team. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?In addition to our ownstaff's professional development during this reporting period, we have provided significant opportunities for training and professional development for agricultural service providers and farmers. These activities have included presentations at six conferences and two workshops including 2024 AgrAbility National Training Workshop, the 5th Life Project - AgrAbility workshop, Virginia Farm to Table conference 2023, Annual Virginia Association for Biological Farming - Small Farm Outreach Program (SFOP) Summit, Virginia Forage and Grassland Council (VFGC) 2024 Winter Forage Conference, 2024 Virginia Agritourism Conference, 2024 Farm Safety Day, and the Farm Stress workshop. Additionally, in Y1, we continue maintaining and growing the AgrAbility Virginia Network (AVN), a listserv made up of program partners. The AVN serves to connect agricultural service providers with disability service providers in a more effective way than the Rural Rehab Partnership which we hosted in previous years. The listserv is intended to enhance communication and provide opportunities for professional development among the group of stakeholders across the state who support, advise, and engage with theAgVA including those providing technical assistance, support services, education, and advocacy on issues of safety, health, wellness, and accessibility in agricultural communities. Staff training: Staff members participate in quarterly All Staff Meetings hosted by the National AgrAbility Project (NAP) (virtual). Staff also attended NAP's National Training Workshop in spring 2024 in Atlanta, GA. The program coordinator also attended 2024 Farm Safety Day and the Farm Stress workshop both in Harrisonburg VA providing insight on farm safety risks and mental health considerations. Staff also attended the 5th Life Project - AgrAbility workshop in summer 2024, in Petersburg, VA.The program coordinator completed the QPR Gatekeeper suicide prevention training from the AgriSafe network designed specifically for agricultural communities. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?We have disseminated our results to communities of interest through presentations, through our website and online resources, through outreach at in-person and other events, through social media, through brochure mailings, and through our newsletter. Presentations. We presented at two conferences and one symposium, including the 2024 AgrAbility National Training Workshop, the 5th Life Project - AgrAbility workshop, and the 2024 ALCE Symposium. Other outreach presentations. We also gave three informal presentations about AgrAbility for the VT Identity and Inclusion in Agriculture class, the 2024 Farm Safety Day in Harrisonburg with Mennonites Youth, and the Rockingham VCE Breakfast with Legislators. Outreach events. We tabled and conducted outreach at seventeen in-person events, with one more scheduled for August:1) Boots to Roots 3: Carving Out Opportunities, Rapidan, VA. 2) Eastern NC Small Farms Fest - A Small Farmer Collaboration, Williamston, NC. 3) VA State Fair, Doswell, VA. 4) Fauquier County Fall Farm Tour, Warrenton, VA. 5) Veterans Disability Fair, Richmond, VA. 6) Annual Convention of the Virginia Farm Bureau - Virginia Beach VA. 7) VA Rural Health Association Conference, Blacksburg VA. 8)Virginia Farm to Table conference 2023 - Weyers Cave VA. 9) Annual Virginia Association for Biological Farming - Small Farm Outreach Program (SFOP) Summit, Roanoke VA. 10) Virginia Forage and Grassland Council (VFGC) 2024 Forage Conference - Wytheville, Chatham, and Weyers Cave. 11) Virginia No-Till Alliance Conference, Harrisonburg VA. 12) 2024 Virginia Agritourism Conference - Exploring the Valley, Harrisonburg VA. 13) VA Beef Expo, Harrisonburg VA. 14) VA Secretary of Agriculture & Forestry, Farm Finance & Conservation Planning Seminar, Blacksburg VA. 15) Amelia County Fair, Amelia Court House, VA. 16) VA Dairy Expo - Harrisonburg VA. 17) Farm Stress workshop - Harrisonburg VA. 18) 2024 ALCE Symposium. 19) 2024 National Urban Agriculture Conference, Detroit Michigan (Anticipated August 2024). Website & Online Resources. We have updated our web presence. Activities related to this have included maintaining our website by continually adding newly created resources and a new series of farmer highlights, updating our Facebook page, Instagram account, and Twitter account with regular news blasts. We shared farmer highlights through all these venues including photos and videos describing the farmers, their illness, injury, or disability, their work with AgrAbility and other partners like DARS, and the outcomes of the service provided. Social Media. From August 1st, 2023, to July 23rd, 2024, our outreach coordinator has updated our Facebook and Instagram accounts with 51 new posts and stories. We had a total post reach of 2,200 on Facebook and 391 on Instagram. Our Facebook account has 735 likes with 816 followers, and our Instagram account has 495 followers. Publications. We have produced one publication through the Virginia Journal of Public Health and two posters. This publication include: • Kiser, Tammy; Seekford, Michelle; and Daubert, Jeremy (2024) "Addressing Farm Safety: Farm Safety Dinner Theaters in the Shenandoah Valley," Virginia Journal of Public Health: Vol. 8: Iss. 2, Article 7. https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/vjph/vol8/iss2/7/ • Franco, R., Niewolny, K., Posadas, B., Upasani, S., Leonessa, A., and Srinivasan, D. 2024. Understanding Farmer Perspectives of Wearable Assistive Technology for Accessibility on the Farm: A Human Centered-Design Approach. Poster presented at 2024 AgrAbility NTW and 2024 ALCE Symposium. • Smilnak, D., Niewolny, K., and Franco, R. 2024. A Community-based Participatory Approach to Research on Health Equity and Social Vulnerability of Farm Workers and Agricultural Laborers in Virginia. Poster presented at 2024 AgrAbility NTW. Farmers' Dinner Theatre. In Y1, AgVa conducted two Farmers' Dinner Theatres in August 2023 and February 2024. Cynthia Martel from VCE organized a Farmers' Dinner Theatre in collaboration with AgrAbility Virginia and the Virginia Beginning Farmer and Rancher Coalition. The event took place in The Catawba Center, Roanoke in August 2023, with 50 farmers and their families in attendance. Also, field staff member Jeremy Daubert organized one Farmers' Dinner Theatre in Raphine in February 2024, with a total attendance of 26 farmers and their families. This event was in partnership with Valley Urgent Care, 4H, and FFA. The Farmers' Dinner Theatre celebrates rural culture and values in a fun and safe environment over a meal. They deal with farm health, stress, and safety problems touching local farm families and communities. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?In the next reporting period, we have several activities planned. These activities will allow us to move toward accomplishing our year four goals and toward meeting our overarching objectives. These activities include: Objective 1: Education Activities: VT faculty will review, revise, and update existing publications (brochures, fact sheets, etc.). ES and VT will upkeep the AgVa website by adding news, events, successes, publications. ES will continue to add at least 2 success stories representing underserved farming groups each year. VT, VSU, and ES will deliver culturally appropriate information to clients and their families electronically, individually, and with the VSU-SFOP's Mobile Agricultural Education Unit. VT faculty, in coordination with VSU Hispanic Outreach Program, will initiate educational material delivery in partnership with AgriSafe and VT FAST to reach underserved Latinx/Hispanic farmers and farmworkers and provide Spanish language training and resources. VT faculty will collaborate with Mary Baldwin Murphy Deming College of Health Sciences graduate students in the health sciences (PT, OT, PA) in creating educational resources and materials that highlight AT and provide education on injury prevention and healthy movement. AgVa team will collaborate with the Virginia Farm Stress Partnership, the Virginia Beginning Farmer and Rancher Coalition, and VT Center for Food Systems and Community Transformation to provide targeted webinars on the intersection of health equity, farmworkers, and farm safety as critical issues for and about underserved and vulnerable farming groups with disabilities. VT faculty will publish new and update educational materials dealing with chronic health issues, accessibility, and health and wellness on the farm. VT faculty will update existing and create new educational materials to familiarize farmers with risky and hazardous agricultural activities and ways to avoid primary/secondary injuries, including those related to stress and farm safety issues and contexts. Service providers, including VAAMEU unit team, will disseminate appropriate strategies for the clients engaged in high-risk operations to reduce the risk of injury. VT faculty will develop new publications on affordable assistive technologies and adaptations to farm machinery in partnership with DARS. VT faculty will develop factsheets on human-centered design for AT. VT, VSU, and ES will develop and distribute the professional development materials to AVN personnel. These publications will also be posted on AgVa's website, VCE's statewide publications library, and shared with NAP's listserv and NAP staff for NAP website. VT faculty will collaborate with the Institute for Public Health Innovation to provide training and other resources related to farm safety, health, and wellness to community health workers serving agricultural communities across Virginia. 1-D-1. In collaboration with the VDACS and AgriSafe, enhance current comprehensive Farm Stress Partnership programming with Farm Dinner Theater toolkit and offerings, farm stress trainings co-led by AgVa team members (e.g., Daubert), Mental Health First Aid trainings, and farm stress and wellness professional development for extension and agricultural providers. VT, VSU, and ES, together, will organize professional development training sessions on accommodating disabilities in agriculture AVN professionals at regional conferences. Objective 2: Networking Activities: ES will maintain a directory of AVN members with addresses and telephone numbers and other pertinent information to distribute to members and clients to encourage networking. ES will organize informal networking sessions for networking among the AVN personnel. AgVa will provide virtual 'office hours' opportunities for AVN members to meet with AgVa staff to ask questions, discuss cases, propose new publications, projects, or partnerships. VT, VSU, and ES together will continue meeting semi-annually with the AgVa Advisory Group for project input, guidance and networking development. ES will post farmer client highlights (with farmer consent) on AgVa website to promote examples of program successes for reference by other farmers, AVN members, and the general public. Objective 3: Direct Assistance Activities: VT-VSU will use client and AVN feedback to streamline and improve the referral and initial screening procedures for faster response. VT-VSU will seek assistance of VBFRC, VCE agents, regional hospitals, and rural health clinics for case referrals. VT-VSU conduct site-visits, develop recommendations, and make referrals to other agencies. VT-VSU field staff will meet once monthly to coordinate services and discuss client management. VT and VSU will work with and support DARS to ensure that clients receive AT support. VT engineers will collaborate as needed. VT engineering students in Senior Design course will partner with AgVa to design AT prototypes to meet AgVa clients' needs. Examples of student projects may include a low-cost lift for small tractors or affordable flexible robotics. AgVA will also conduct a program evaluation in Y2 to evaluate direct services and related outreach. Objective 4: Marketing Activities: AgVa team will continue to develop a comprehensive long-term strategy to market AgVa programs and AT Fund through VCE and AVN. ES will make presentations and have displays and distribute literature to publicize the AgVa program through disability advocacy community. VT faculty will leverage VT-CAIA and VT-TREC Laboratory collaborations to seek additional resources to enhance programming and reach for human-centered design AT. AgVa team will support marketing initiatives and strategies implemented by the NAP. VT-VSU will use a mobile AT Lending Center ("Library") to provide tools and services to AgrAbility clients who farm in urban areas through leveraged USDA FSA funding initiative. VT and ES will manage and grow the AgVa AT funds.Attend events and conferences hosted by and attended by AVN partners (including conferences related to healthcare, rural health) to provide information about AgVa and encourage referrals. Attend events and conferences hosted by farming groups and attended by farmers (e.g. the Farm Bureau Annual Meeting and the Virginia Association for Biological Farming conference) to provide information about AgVa and encourage referrals (including self-referrals).

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Education Objective Examples of key outcomes and activities include: A. Conference Presentations: We presented at two conferences and one symposium, including the 2024 AgrAbility National Training Workshop, the 5th Life Project - AgrAbility workshop, and the 2024 ALCE Symposium. We tabled and conducted outreach at seventeen in-person events, with one more scheduled for August including: Boots to Roots 3, VA Rural Health Association Conference, and Virginia Farm to Table conference, among others. B. Other Outreach Presentations: We offered several AgVA outreach-focused presentations including: The Virginia Tech Identity and Inclusion in Agriculture course targeting undergraduate students, 2024 Farm Safety Day for Mennonites youth, and Rockingham Virginia Cooperative Extension Breakfast with Legislators. C. Publications: 1 peer-review journal article on our farm dinner theater programming, three peer reviewed poster publications on a) NSF flexible robotic applied research to practice initiative and farm worker health equity community-based participatory research project. D. Mary Baldwin University Partnership: We again partnered with students from Mary Baldwin University's Murphy Deming College of Health Sciences to create resources to promote farm safety and wellness. We are currently working on two Extension publications oriented to guide occupational and physical therapist working with farmers. These documents are currently in draft form. E. Farm Safety, Health, and Wellness Trainings: Farm Safety, Health, and Wellness Trainings during Y1 included two new Farm Dinner Theaters programs in collaboration with the Virginia Beginning Farmer and Rancher Coalition, Valley Urgent Care, 4H, and Virginia FFA. F. Engineering Design Courses: In Y1, Dr. Alex Leonessa was on research leave and did not offer his course to Virginia Tech students, but we will resume these offerings in Y2 with the Center for Advanced Innovation in Agriculture (CAIA) and the Terrestrial Robotics Engineering & Controls (TREC) Lab. G. Virginia State University Mobile Educational Unit: the education unit was retrofitted with new AgVA booth that now includes an updated touch screen video player with interactive display, tools, and information sharing. During Y1, the mobile unit had visited over 20 sites with over 8000 visitors ranging from youth to adults. Networking Objective Select Y1 activities to highlight include: A. AgrAbility Virginia Network was expanded to increase network reach and to connect agricultural service providers with disability service providers who support, advise, and engage with the AgVA including those providing technical assistance, support services, education, and advocacy on issues of safety, health, wellness, and accessibility in agricultural communities. B. Department of Aging and Rehabilitative Services (DARS) counselors, engineers, and occupational therapists in Y1 worked with AgVA to identify assistive technologies appropriate for farmer clients. C. Virginia Cooperative Extension (VCE) agents have become increasingly active in our program during Y1. Program director Dr. Kim Niewolny and team have collaborated with VCE agents to improve direct services opportunities and referrals. D. AgriSafe during Y1 as part of the Virginia Farmer Stress Partnership, we have increased statewide outreach on the Farm Stress Hotline, educational materials, and a Farm Stress workshop. E. Virginia Beginning Farmer & Rancher Coalition (VBFRC) continues to be a key partner. In addition to sharing information, referrals, and direct service-related resources, the VBFRC and AgVa team conducted a Farm Dinner Theatre in Y1 to reach new and beginning farmers addressing farm stress and wellness. F. Advancing Urban Agriculture and Sustainable Food Systems in Virginia. AgVA has partnered with Advancing Urban Agriculture and Sustainable Food Systems in Virginia Initiative, led by the VT Center for Food System and Community Transformation and the VSU Small Farm Outreach Program. This project aims to support urban growers in Virginia. AgVA has partnered to grow farmer reach and health and safety impacts in urban communities. G. Virginia Farm Worker Health Equity. During Y1, AgVA has partnered in the "Community-based Health Equity Research to Practice Initiative to Increase Farm Worker and Agricultural Laborer Health, Safety, and Wellness in Virginia" project. This project was funded in Y1 from the VT College of Agriculture and Life Sciences to address concerns related to agricultural labor needs and wellness for farm workers and laborers in Virginia. AgVa staff will be co-publishing results of this applied research in Y2. Direct Assistance Objective In Y1, we provided direct services to a diversity of 37 farmers, which included conducting nine new site visits. We also provided virtual services via phone and email, to an additional 15 farmers to provided services and assistive technology referrals. These on-site and phone meetings were generally conducted in partnership with local specialists from VCE and the SFOP at VSU, as well as with counselors, occupational therapists, and rehabilitation engineers from the Virginia Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services (DARS). We also submitted anonymized client data to NAP for demographics reporting annually. In Y1 we submitted data in June 2023. A. Staffing, Training, & Recruitment. Staff participate in monthly project meetings, which include program updates and technical assistance support. Staff also participate in the National AgrAbility Project All Staff Meetings on a quarterly basis and they have participated in the National AgrAbility Project's National Training Workshop in 2024, in Atlanta, Georgia. B. Advisory Group. Our eight-member advisory group helps guide and manage our program as we provide direct services to farmer-clients. The group represents farmers and organizations related to agriculture and rehabilitation. We meet with the advisory group biannually. Our Y1 meeting took place in July 2024. C. Famer Clients. In Y1, we provided services to 37 farmers, of which 26% were African Americans and 74% were white. Also, 40% were veterans, 16% were women, and 22% were beginning farmers. In Y1, we worked with small and large-scale farm operations in rural and urban areas. The most common farming operations were beef and dairy, followed by vegetable and poultry farms. The most common disabilities were back and knee injuries, blindness, aging, amputations, and PTSD. Small-scale assistive technologies, tractor steps, and tractor lifts were the most requested assistance from our AgVA team. Marketing Objective A. Website & Online Resources. during this reporting period, we updated resources and publications, and added one farmer highlight to our page. We have had 3,925 page views since August 1st, 2023, with 1,382 website users. We also updated our Facebook and Instagram accounts with regular news blasts. In addition to providing monthly NAP e-Notes, AgVa published an e-newsletters in August 2023 and our next newsletter will publish in July 2024. Past newsletters can be accessed here: www.agrability.alce.vt.edu/Newsletters.html. B. Outreach: We tabled and conducted outreach at 17 in-person events, with 1 more scheduled for August. C. Social Media: We have 1311 followers across our two social media accounts this reporting period. Our outreach coordinator has updated our Facebook and Instagram pages with 51 new posts and stories with a maximum post reach of 2,200 on Facebook and a maximum post reach of 391 on Instagram. D. Publicity: The AgVA outreach coordinator mailed over 300 brochures and letters to Ag teachers across the state in the Fall 2023. Also, we created a Farm Safety and Wellness kit which includes AgVA and AgriSafe mental health and farm safety publications and brochures. In addition, the kit includes personal protective equipment (PPE), a first aid kit, and AgVA branded outreach materials.

Publications

• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: Kiser, Tammy; Seekford, Michelle; and Daubert, Jeremy (2024) "Addressing Farm Safety: Farm Safety Dinner Theaters in the Shenandoah Valley," Virginia Journal of Public Health: Vol. 8: Iss. 2, Article 7. https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/vjph/vol8/iss2/7/
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: Franco, R., Niewolny, K., Posadas, B., Upasani, S., Leonessa, A., and Srinivasan, D. 2024. Understanding Farmer Perspectives of Wearable Assistive Technology for Accessibility on the Farm: A Human Centered-Design Approach. Poster presented at 2024 AgrAbility NTW and 2024 ALCE Symposium.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: Smilnak, D., Niewolny, K., and Franco, R. 2024. A Community-based Participatory Approach to Research on Health Equity and Social Vulnerability of Farm Workers and Agricultural Laborers in Virginia. Poster presented at 2024 AgrAbility NTW.