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.