Progress 09/01/18 to 08/31/23
Outputs
Target Audience:Agricultural Workers, Fishermen, Veterans? As early as 2018, Q1 the Alaska AgrAbility project director(s) made many valuable, awareness-raising connections targeting audiences such as agricultural non-profits, agencies serving individuals with disabilities, Cooperative Extension alumni, business development support agencies and farmers. As the project developed the following organizations were included: Alaska Farmers Market Association, the University of Alaska Fairbanks Extension, the Alaska Division of Agriculture, Alaska Farmland Trust, Alaska Mental Health Trust, University of Alaska Anchorage Small Business Development Center, Anchorage Botanical Garden, American Association of Retired Persons, Access Alaska, Farmer Veteran Coalition, Soil and Water Conservation District, Veterans Administration, Anchorage Museum, Anchorage Master Gardeners and garden clubs. Extension is most closely networked with Alaska's Agricultural communities and although outreach has always included all eligible target audiences, agriculture/horticulture/food producers/farmers markets comprised the earliest and most intensively approached groups. Outreach to these groups have included numerous formal presentations and booths at annual statewide sustainable agriculture/Farm Bureau meetings, presentations to organizations (named above) and many small gardening clubs. Farmers and others involved with food and specialty crop production and distribution make up the greatest number of our AgrAbility customers. Those assessed were active in a variety of agricultural efforts such as bee keeping, reindeer ranching, specialty flower raising and barley farming. During COVID-19 public contact restrictions, AgrAbility awareness-building virtual workshops were developed and conducted on modifications and adaptions that could serve those with disabilities growing food for personal use, CSAs and small garden vendors at farmer's markets. Direct client assessments were very limited during 2 years of Covid-19 restrictions although some were conducted by phone and online evaluations. Military veterans were also prioritized, recognizing the extremely high percentage (per capita) of combat veterans in the state. This was highlighted by a visit to Alaska by the vice-chair of the Farmer Veterans Coalition (FVC) of Tennessee with "Meet & Greet" tours in Fairbanks, Delta Junction and Fort Greely exploring FVC future involvement and interest in creating an Alaskan FVC Chapter. Presentations/booths at resource fairs, health fairs and job fairs have been additional outreach to veterans. To date, we have had only one veteran client. Starting in the project's second year, commercial fishermen/mariculture workers and timber/wood workers were two additional targets population. These groups have been difficult to reach partly due to location; however, in the final half year of the grant, our contracted PT had begun to pursue serving Alaskan commercial fishermen similarly to Maine's program. And at the end of the fourth year, an OT, completing a doctorate focused on commercial fishing injuries, began the process of becoming an AgrAbility assessment contractors. State-wide OT and PT professional organizations have begun to share information about AgrAbility to peer service providers and with potential clients. A new target group for us in the past three years has been retirees who are experiencing disabilities but maintain a desire to grow and harvest their own food. This was not one of the considered cohorts to focus on when writing the original grant proposal but growing at home and wild harvesting have become part of Alaska's sustainable and secure food system goals. Alaska's AgrAbility director collaborated with AARP in a community challenge grant and provided conferences, workshops and technical assistance to individuals on accessible growing strategies. These efforts raised awareness of modifications and adaptations that could be employed for small scale agricultural producers by providing hands-on and virtual adaptive building demonstrations. Many of Alaska's professional farmers and fishermen are over 50 yrs and but are not ready to give up their small-scale farms or fishing businesses. This type of information could help them continue what they love and increase food security. Thus looking back over the roughly four years of grant activity, the Alaska aging/disabled workforce received primary information and assessments to maintain or gain careers in various areas such as growing grain, raising specialty crops, cash crop flowers, and vegetable harvesting. Changes/Problems:Discussions with the current UAF CES CO-PIs, ATLA, our non-profit partner and staff who have supported AgrAbility in the Last Frontier have identified a number of problem areas and proposed changes for the second funding cycle. Geography, transportation and limited staff/Extension agents have made face-to-face AgrAbility outreach/referral very challenging. Unlike "Lower 48" projects, much of Alaska is not on a road system and we do not have community-trusted, Extension staff in much of the state with close relationships in the target groups supporting outreach and referral to services. The majority of outreach/recruitment has been conducted by the project directors who are located in Fairbanks and Anchorage. During the next grant cycle, we have added several faculty/agents to the project in the important areas of Southeast, Interior and Southcentral Alaska. This will be critical for increasing outreach to fishing/mariculture industries, agricultural workers and veterans. In addition, we hope to cultivate Extension affiliated "AgrAbility champions" to raise awareness of our support, education and services for individuals with disabilities. A potential barrier to providing services has been the mechanism for customer enrollment, scheduling worksite/individual assessments and providing recommendations. Our non-profit partner, Assistive Technology of Alaska (ATLA), while experienced and skilled at statewide service, is based in Anchorage and this most likely means that a full assessment in other locations will be delayed (delays were especially problematic during Covid-19 for the first two years of the project). We are attempting to address this issue by contracting with OTs/PTs in other areas of the state. We are very excited to have contracted with an OT located in the Southeast to support our fishing communities. ATLA has also suggested developing an easier enrollment portal/website both with their organization and Extension so that individuals can easily request assistance and "self-refer". These are under development. We will also dedicate an individual to "case management" to coordinate services and investigate resources and sources of funding for assistive technology and to collaborate with the State of Alaska Division of Vocational Rehabilitation. While we are pleased with our outreach and outreach materials, a third issue to be evaluated this year, will be our messaging and use of a variety of media for outreach. To date, most outreach and recruitment has occurred at conference/event booths and presentations. These definitely reach portions of our target audiences but it will be necessary to have a wider reach to make "AgrAbility" recognizable throughout the state. Several solutions we will be trying are public radio spots (especially for individuals involved in fishing and mariculture); increased presentations to smaller, diverse community groups (vs conference booths); developing/testing effective messaging for social media and "elevator speeches" (i.e. AgrAbility gives you a road map for success.....) and for creating some new outreach flyers; developing more education focused and farmer/fisher programs (ie stress management, pain management, financial planning, adapative home modification) that can become part of our AgrAbility services/messaging. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Each year of the grant cycle, staff and clients with disabilities attended the annual National AgrAbilityTraining Workshop. One regional training workshop was also attended (Michigan). The project directors and Co-PI(s) have participated in multiple Purdue sponsored virtual workshops on outreach, mental health, national data, and national veteran services. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Our non-profit partner/Co-PI, ATLA distributes a monthly newsletter to agency clients who have received services and to additional service provider organizations for individuals with disabilities. The CES PI provides monthly updates to National AgrAbility. We have had a poster session at one National AgrAbility Workshop and we have regularly presented at statewide agriculture-related conferences (both formal presentations and booths). UAF Cooperative Extension has also created an AgrAbility website to raise awareness and direct individuals to the program. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
?During this grant cycle, we focused on establishing AgrAbility in the Last Frontier. We averaged four agricultural producers a year who received AgrAbility assessments by a therapist or technician. The majority of these were completed by Ned Stoller (AgrAbility Assistive Tech contracted from MI). Approximately 12 - 18 other agricultural workers were able to receive various types of assistance from our non-profit Co-PI Assistive Technology provider, ATLA. We have returning clients whom we have assisted during the years. We have developed relationships with other community organizations providing services to individuals with disabilities including the Alaska Division of Vocational Rehabilitation and the Alaska Mental Health Trust which provides resources or grants for injured or disabled individuals. As an extended team we have educated the public through workshops, conference presentations, assistive technology tool and ergonomic modification demonstrations at event booths and interacted with customers to promote awareness of AgrAbility services and introduce Alaskans to the AgrAbility Toolbox (a national compendium of agricultural equipment modifications). Outreach materials for booths and fair settings were developed. One T.V. spot was also recorded and began airing in July 2023. And, local events and target groups (ie veterans) were identified for outreach each year
Publications
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Progress 09/01/21 to 08/31/22
Outputs
Target Audience:With in-person restrictions diminishing, we were able to connect once again with partner agencies to build capacity while able to connect again with agricultural workers. UAF-Cooperative Extension Service (CES) personnel worked with the Alaska Farmers Market Association (AFMA), The University of Alaska Fairbanks Matanuska Experiment Farm & Extension Center(MEFEC), the Fairbanks Farmers Market, Soil and Water Conservation District, American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), OSHER Life Long Learning and statewide district UAF-CES offices as CES provided accessibility resources, questions, referrals, and workshops on a virtual basis as well as in person. Four new clients brought in this year on deck for an assessment are active in reindeer farming, speciality flower raising and barley farming. Full, traditional assessments were not completed for these agricultural workers (as we lost our staff occupational therapist and are seeking a new one to join the physical therapist for future dual discipline assessments since the first of 2022). This did not exclude them from recieving services though. The AKAgrAbility team members sought with limited success to reach military veteran agricultural workers this project year. Some conversations were initiated with those connected with commercial fishing (while forest workers were not accessed but are on the list for specific outreach). A number of events focued on seniors experiencing disabilities per accessbile growing ideas for the general public. These efforts raised awareness of modifications and adaptations that can be employed; even a hands on adaptive building demonstration and workshop were provided to agricultural workers at the annuual agriculture convention Changes/Problems:Thus, we have a fifth year and have revamped in the past half year how we are structured to be more diverse and effective. This includes new Ag. trained/veteran Co-Director as well as a new assesement oriented Physical Therapist with hopes of soon providing a multi-expertise assessemnt process as we procure a contracted Occupational Therapist). We also are activley looking at utilizing this no cost extension time and funding toward contracting for more reach into the coastal parts of the state (which means a stronger focus in this final year on fishing and timber workers to compliment our current client load of field growers). We also are utilizing the no cost extension resources to contract with staff who'll be more specifically focused on 1) potential/current client care and 2) general outreach to agencies and the public. We have another round of funding approved for 2022-2026, yet we will be focused on optimizing the resources on the no cost extension from this first round yet. With coming out of restrictions and reorganzing to more focused skill and duty recruitment rather than office occupancy I think we will be able to reach a deeper set of clients - which is needful given the small scale, limited visibility and diverse agricultural activies that are present in Alaska. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?For Alaska AgrAbility staff, the annual NTW offered a variety of workshops in March at Madison, WI as well as networking opportunities with other AgrAbility programs; there a presentation was made on the Alaska AgrAbility program to other states as well. Multi-state connections were made prior and at the event. In Alaska, for the general public, one of the Co-PI/partner organizations ATLA hosted workshops on various assistive technology topics per AgrAbility for other agency folk and the general public; AARP of Alaska also hosted workshops as well which included AgrAbility personnel. Continued opportunities offered by the NAP (Purdue) were taken advantage of to better our understanding of what other states are doing to reach potential and existing agricutlural workers. . How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?As mentioned, Alaska's AgrAbility program has continued to work with community/statewide partners to put out newsletters every several months as well as provide information for the the national e-notes. The newsletters have included articles on content subjects as well as mentioning upcoming opportunities and reflecting on the activies of current clients at times. The Alaska Agrability Facebook mentions access to national as well as state events related to disabilities in agricutlure. Through this venue workshop registrations, intro info to adaptive tools, access to newsletter/e-notes and expertise offered through other agencies is readibly available to Facebook users. . The Alaska AgrAbility project is working with the UAF Cooperative Extension publications staff to update and center a dedicated webpage, and ALTA assistst through an annual contract with getting the word out through their networks and web presence. There has been a general rising awareness to make our information itself more accessible to those experiening sight and hearing imparements; future improvements to make outreach and AgrAbility materials more accessible are being hammered out. Finally it should be mentioned that with closer work among other AgrAbility programs (Maine, New Mexico, Colorado, etc..) the Alaska AgrAbility program is getting more exposure and disseminating what we are doing with others serviced by the AgrAbility NAP newwork. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We have applied for and recieved a no cost extension to continue efforts in the current round of AgrAbility that was greaty hampered by COVID restrictions and difficulties with intitial establishment the last couple years. This will give us until September of 2023 to provide more outreach, engage in activities and improve our resuts for this intial round of AgrAbility in Alaska.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
With face to face encounters and in person events being revived this year, we included a wider diversity of expertise to the AgrAbility team by adding an Agricultural Engineer by training as Co-PI, while contracting with a certified Physical Therapist who has become integrated in outreach and assessments. We lost our Occupational Therapist during the project year (yet are looking for another to assist per assessments). Pre-existing clients and new ones continued to recieve information and technical assistance (via phone/email, virutal meetings and as mentioned with some in person contact). Continued participation with the National Assistance Program (NAP) at Purdue University helped Alaska AgrAbility tap into expertise at a larger level as we served clients in the state. Though there was a return to face to face events virtual teaching, meetings and assistance continued (and has been helpful to bridge distance and accommodate timing since it was implemented out of necessity during COVID restrictions). Venues utilized for exposure this project year included new and continued partnering with the following to extend our outreach efforts in raising accessibilty awareness and recruiting new potential clients: Alaska Food Policy Council, AARP series, Aging and Disability Resource Centers, Alaska Housing Finance Corporation, Alaska Independent Living Centers, Creighton University/UAA OT program, Alaska Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, Alaska Governor's Council on Disability & Special Education, Anchorage Wildflower Club, Lifelong Learning Institute, and a number of senior centers in various parts of the state. Attendance at events included in person as well as virtual presence while covering specific topics such as universal design on agricultural property, aging in place modifications, and independent working and living considerations. Along with events covering basic intro on AgrAbility services and available resources such as the NAP's Toolbox the AKAgrAbility project utilzed media such as Facebook, Newsletters, AK AgrAbility website (in editing progress) and continues to be listed with other Alaskan agricultural services by the Western Regional Agricultural Stress Assistance Program (https://farmstress.us/state/alaska/) .
Publications
- Type:
Websites
Status:
Under Review
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
https://www.uaf.edu/ces/agriculture/agrability/index.php
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Progress 09/01/20 to 08/31/21
Outputs
Target Audience:Due to limited in person client contact restrictions an emphasis was placed on connecting with partner agencies to build capacity to get resource information out to farmers, ranchers, fishers, timber workers, and the general public who work in agricultural jobs. As an "all hands-on deck" approach was being taken with the UAF-Cooperative Extension Service (CES) during this time to assist all clientele during this pandemic crisis, the AKAgrAbility project has been able to work with the Alaska Farmers Market Association (AFMA), The University of Alaska Fairbanks Matanuska Experiment Farm & Extension Center(MEFEC), Alaska Farmland Trust (AFLT), University of Alaska Anchorage-Small Business Development Center (UAA-SBDC), Anchorage Botanical Gardens, American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), OSHER Life Long Learning cohorts, various garden clubs, and statewide district UAF-CES offices to assist with accessibility resources, questions, referrals, demonstrations and workshops on a virtual basis. The Pincipal Investigator & Co-Principal Investigator and other AKAgrAbility team members target Veteran farmers this project year through connections with the Farmer Veteran Coalition Stakeholders Conference. Also several workshops, presentations, and fairs were attended virtually to reach out to those working in agricultural careers that may have a disability. Due to COVID-19 virtual workshops were done and piloted related to accessbile gardening to the general public as well to raise awareness of useful modifications and resources available. Client assessments that were able to be completed virtually were done, but this was very limited to phone and some online due to statewide restrictions during the pandemic. Changes/Problems:As the COVID-19 pandemic continued throughout this project year many challenges continued with engaging with AKAgrAbilty clients. In-person onsite assessments were not allowed due to university restrictions and over 12 months of working from home. Contact with clients and outreach continued through virtual means only until in March 2021 the first onsite assessment was allowed. Providing virtual assessments was attempted with clients that were willing and had broadband capacity. When clients were unable to meet via Zoomm or other video conferencing means phone and email communication was used as a primary source of resource exchanging. During this time of restriction research was done to partner and determine funding opportunities for referral for clients as needed related to COVID impacts and assistive technology needs. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?ATLA hosted multiple free webinars on various assistive technology topics to reach service providers and consumers. Wherever applicable, AKAgrAbility services were mentioned to help increase awareness of the project. Informal sessions open to the public called "coffee chats" were developed in order to bring awareness to AT concepts, equipment, and implementation best practices. Also, the AKAgrAbilty team was able to pilot 2 new 3-day lunch time series workshops on accessible gardening virtually. The workshops were well received and modifications are taking place for future deliveries. In addition, staff presented at a couple of conferences made up of consitutents as well as professional agency folks. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?In the Fall of 2020, the AKAgrAbility team & ATLA began a quarterly enewsletter. To date, three enewsletters have been sent with a total of 407 opens. The newsletters have included timely topics on mental health while in a pandemic and entering winter, avoiding injury in the winter, accessible growing areas, funding options for readers to take advantage of, and resources for seniors. Each newsletter features a topic covered by staff/faculty, anote from the Co-PI, DeShana York, an assistive technology tool or device, and any upcoming events. The AKAgrAbilty project contributes to the National AgrAbilty Project (NAP) eNote each month with updates, events, and trainings offered. The AKAgrAbility project has an active social media presence online and there are plans to revamp the project website with more resources. Several social media outlets within Cooperative Extension Service (CES) & AssistiveTechnology of Alaska (ALTA) are also utilized. Internal departmental project education and awareness to Cooperative Extension personnel is provided through an interagency enewsletter that is disseminated every two weeks via email venues. As relayed above, a variety of different modalities were utilitized such as workshops, presentations, attendance at conferences & events virtually this last year. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?As restrictions have begun to lift the AKAgrAbility team will be refocused on in-person on-site assessments for clients that have been awaiting assessments during the pandemic. Engagement with clients associated with the project and outreach to new potential clients took place last year during the pandemic virtually, and we are gearing up with resources to make as much of a 'human' presence as possible. Many connections were made through the last two Farmer Veteran Coalition (FVC) Stakeholders Conferences (2019/2020). Veterans working in agricultural careers in Alaska have been an important client group due to the number of veterans that stay in Alaska or return once they separate from service. This coming year additional emphasis on veteran engagement will be a focus. The AKAgrAbility Co-PI was asked to participate in a planning group for the first ever Alaska Farm Bureau/Sustainable Ag Convention & Expo in November 2021. Planning has begun to have representation from the FVC Coalition travel to Alaska in the coming year to engage with Alaskan Veteran farmers/ranchers as well as those engaging in commercial fishing or lumberjacking. This last year an AKAgrAbility veteran client and peony farmer was selected to be on a new ten-person FVC Advisory Panel representing the Western region. The AKAgrAbilty project is excited about this opportunity for our client and prospect of collaborating to start a state FVC Chapter. The AKAgrAbility Principal Investigator (PI) applied for an AARP Community Challenge grant in May 2020. The grant application was successful and is a great pairing to the AKAgrAbilty project. The award is focused on setting up a working adaptive garden demonstration area at a community garden to showcase universal design and AT practices and modified tools for gardening. The location (a community garden) is adjacent to the Alaska State Fairgrounds and will likely have great traffic and exposure. The intent is to have branded signage at the location to educate visitors about the site but also include AKAgrAbilty resource and contact information for referrals. The Alaska Division of Agriculture (AKDOA) offers specialty crop block grants each year, and this year the Soil & Water Conservation District (SWCD) in Homer, Alaska applied for a grant while asking AKAgrAbility to partner with them and be a resource. The Homer SWCD grant is focused on providing producers with plans and demonstrations on how to modify growing practices for strawberries by testing various versions of strawberry grow towers, analyzing farmer movements with AKAgrAbilty OT and ATLA and studying strawberry variety adaptability to the new methods. This project will leverage educational resources for those in agricultural careers and is projected to provide farmer referrals to the AKAgrAbilty project. The Alaska Botanical Garden (ABG) located in Anchorage, Alaska consists of 110 acres of boreal forest with approximately 8 acres of cultivated gardens interconnected with nature trails. Several thousand visitors visit the garden each year making the location a highly visible and frequented location. The team at the ABG has asked the AKAgrAbility project to partner to provide educational information, signage, and assistance with collaboration with a demonstration area. This past year ABG invited AgrAbility to give a presentation on adaptive growing and modifications at its annual conference, and this next year the ABG is planning an initiative to expand opportunities, education, and resources to those that have disabilities. Education/Networking/Assistance: 1. Offer an opioid and mental health workshop sponsored by the AKAgrAbility project and market to farmers with disabilities around the state. 2. Partner with UAA Small Business Development Center to offer open enrollment workshops sponsored by AgrAbility around small business planning. Co-sponsor AK Veteran Business Forum around agricultural business opportunities. 3. Partner with UAA Creighton University/ University of Alaska Anchorage Occupational Therapy Program to introduce "green care" principles and accessibility concepts in agricultural careers. 4. Provide accessible gardening workshops to the general public and to organizations that promote small business ventures around agriculture (i.e. Alaska Farmer's Market Association, etc) 5. Distribute AgrAbility marketing materials, NAP publications, and other relevant materials at health clinics & rehabilitation providers around the state. Invite broadly health & rehabilitation providers to Virtual NTW Workshops and other topic specific workshops that are relevant to informing them on agriculture occupations and injuries that can occur. Provide demonstration clinics in partnership with ATLA at health provider events, conferences & meetings. 6. Work to collaborate with VA/VR&E at all of the military installations to offer AgrAbility awareness workshops regarding AgrAbility and resources. Have AgrAbility promotional materials at all military installations, Alaska Department of Labor job centers, farm equipment gardening supply & heavy equipment stores available for pick up by patrons. 7. Continue to research options to deliver a blended (in person & virtual synchronous) course series to provide a customized 'Alaska New Farmer Rancher Academy' for the general public and target marketed to veterans. 8. Market all of the National AgrAbility Project (NAP) training opportunities to relevant partner organizations, CES personnel, the general public, farmers/ranchers/fishers/lumberers when appropriate. Webinars and online engagements are very beneficial to exposing these groups to new technologies and concepts pertinent to AgrAbility work and have proven to be invaluable. After discussion with the NAP another plan is to do widespread marketing for the AgrAbility Virtual NTW Workshop this coming year. The intent is to have virtual sites at various locations where participants can go attend as a group and have a facilitated discussion after the webinars on various topics. This is meant to increase awareness and act as an informal needs assessment in communities around topics delivered. 9. UAF CES will build and strengthen relationships with agricultural and health organizations, disability service providers, peer network volunteers, and other organizations. 10. Network with businesses, agencies, and organizations that target underserved audiences.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Although this last year of the project was met with many challenges, to include the COVID-19 pandemic, many exciting engagements and opportunities have emerged. New partnerships are underway and new planning and outreach efforts have been forged over this last year. The project team has been expanded and client outreach was expanded during the time of the pandemic lockdown. Due to restrictions associated with COVID-19 in the state and variable protocols required by the University of Alaska system, limited on-site assessments have been fully completed. The AKAgrAbility team stayed in contact with clients electronically through email, Zoom meetings, and by phone during the last 13 months. Information gathering regarding client situations and challenges were documented during this time and funding sources researched and shared. Various faculty a Purdue and NIFA were good resources as we worked with clients in these unusual times. Now that restrictions are lifting, the team is planning to continue in person on-site assessments this Summer. Some of the backgrounds of the clients awaiting on-site assessments are peony farmers, and market farmers. Their disabilities range from vision impairments, arthritis, brain injuries, as well as Down's Syndrome. During the "hunkerdown" of the pandemic the AKAgrAbility & ATLA teams provided outreach and education virtually through Zoom and in partnership with other organizations that were also restricted during that time period. With the elimination of in-person events, both urban and rural organizations were reached virtually. Some of the outreach included Alaska Botanical Garden's 2021 Spring Garden Conference, Aging and Disability Resource Centers, Alaska Commission on Aging, Alaska Independent Living Centers, Creighton University/UAA OT program, Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, Governor's Council on Disability & Special Education, Southeast Senior Services, Alaska Forum on the Environment, Anchorage Wildflower Club, Lifelong Learning Institute, and Tribal Vocational Rehabilitation. Representativesprovided presentations at staff meetings, during group meetings where the organization's clientswere present, and at community-based and statewide events. Attendance ranged between 10 and 100 individuals with topics including accessible gardening/greenhouse work, property modifications, independent working and living, and general overviews of the AKAgrAbility project. The AKAgrAbility project provided a support letter and joined the Western Regional Agricultural Stress Assistance Program (WRASAP) this past year. Through this partnership resources, virtual educational opportunities, and client support assistance has been expanded to provide clients and staff with flexible help where they need it. Examples can be seen at https://farmstress.us/state/alaska/ .
Publications
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Progress 09/01/18 to 08/31/19
Outputs
Target Audience:The Project Director attended the Alaska Sustainable Agriculture Conference & Workshop on November 4-8, 2018 and made many valuable connections with agencies, non-profit agriculture entities and farmers. In November several meetings & events were attended by the Project Director to formally announce the project award and raise awareness. Those included an annual Farm Bureau meeting & banquet, meetings with the UAA Disability Services office, Alaska Master Gardener Association board meeting, Access Alaska traumatic brain injury support group meetings, UAA Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Alaska Veteran Business Forum, Citywide Anchorage job fair, and other agency informational meetings about the project. Changes/Problems:The Alaska AgrAbility project received funding, as a new awardee state and began work mid October 2018. Some of the slight delay had to do with delays in award acquisition from NIFA due to legislative allocation delays and university processing and set-up of a new award.Once the award was accessible work began and plan implementation was underway. Alaska AgrAbility has faced some challenges this first eight months delaying implementation plans that were initially ready for deployment. One of those was a 7.0 earthquake that took place November 30, 2018. This significant event required an "all hands-on deck" mandate from the CES Director to assisted effected communities. That mandate shifted funding for the Project Director and Principal Investigator for this project from November 30, 2018-January 4, 2019. On December 31, 2018 the Alaska AgrAbility Project Director was notified that the non-profit partner organization's Executive Director, Doug White was resigning. The Access Alaska was very involved with setting out the implementation plan for the project during the proposal development stage of the project. At the time of Mr. White's departure, he indicated that an Interim Executive Director would be named sometime in January. Access Alaska named an Interim Executive Director sometime in late January, the AgrAbility Project Director met with the new person to go over expectations and original implementation plans. At that time the Executive Director indicated that he was not sure if the organization could still engage with the project due to staffing shortages and financial constraints. At that meeting it was agreed upon that both parties would continue to move forward and review what changes to the project could be modified to address the changes in climate. On June 5, 2019 the AgrAbility Project Director received an e-mail from the Access Alaska Interim Director. The email indicated a few concerns and stated that after a meeting with his Staff team that "also the inability to adequately support the needs identified with the assessments are a concern." Alaska Assistive Technology of Alaska (ATLA) was/is positioned and has the expertise to immediately begin working with the AgrAbility project as a non-profit partner to provide the technical assistance needed. Provisions are being put into place to have ATLA come on board with the project. ATLA is the implementing agency of the federal Assistive Technology Act and has Specialists on staff ready to facilitate the needs of our waiting clientele. They already provide assessments statewide and are poised to meet our incoming clients' needs with wraparound support. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Through the National AgrAbilty (NAP) directly & through the coordination of the NAP at the regional training workshop and National Training Workshop there was many opportunities for professional development that the Alaska AgrAbility team was able to participate. In addtion the atttendance at two New Farmer Expos in Anchorage & Fairbanks, the Sustainable Agriculture Conference and the made it possible to engage with subject matter experts and others working in the industry which was invaluable to developing skills in this area. Also, having a partnership with Tennesee State University Cooperative Extension Service and University of Tennessee Extension has been very helpful. It is extremely helpful with new AgrAbility projects to have a "mentor" state that can assist with questions on grant processing, project & program development and evaluation. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?A variety of contacts were made through outreach at several events in Anchorage, Fairbanks, Delta Junction, and the Kenai Peninsula to make potential clientele aware of the project. Research was done around organziations that work with target audiences of farmers, ranchers, fishers and veteran farmers. Social media and a website are also being used to disseminate information on upcoming outreach opportunities and resources. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Prospectus - Plan of Work: Objective: Educate farmers with disabilities, health professionals, Extension and other agriculture professionals about available technical assistance, health and disability resources. Offer a Mental Health First Aid Course sponsored by the AgrAbility project and marketed to CES personnel, agricultural professionals and health professionals in three locations around the state. Offer a Mental Health First Aid Course sponsored by the AgrAbility project and market to veterans in three locations around the state. Offer an opioid awareness workshop sponsored by the AgrAbility project and market to farmers with disabilities in three locations around the state. Pilot UT horticulture therapy workshops for Alaskan military personnel & veterans in three locations around the state. Partner with UAA Small Business Development Center to offer open enrollment workshops sponsored by AgrAbility around small business planning. Co-sponsor AK Veteran Business Forum around agricultural business opportunities. Objective: Increase health and rehabilitation providers' understanding of agriculture as an occupation and approaches to increasing independence per farming. Distribute AgrAbility marketing materials, NAP publications, and other relevant materials at health clinics & rehabilitation providers around the state. Invite broadly health & rehabilitation providers to Virtual NTW Workshop and other topic specific workshops that are relevant to exposing them to agriculture occupations and injuries that can occur. Provide demonstration clinics in partnership with ATLA at health provider events, conferences & meetings. Collaborate with UAA professional Doctor of Occupational Therapy (OTD) students in the AgrAbility project. The UAA OTD program is a partnership with Creighton University to deliver OT education. This would include outreach to the program faculty at both universities with the plan to incorporate information regarding farming with disability information to students. Information would include referral resources, assistive technology exposure, farming occupation exposure, and potential project engagement through field trips along with ATLA to farm on-site assessments. Objective: Collaborate with VA/VR&E, Alaska Department of Labor, Alaska division of Agriculture and others to retrain veterans with disabilities for farming careers. Work to collaborate with VA/VR&E at all of the military installations to offer AgrAbility awareness workshops regarding AgrAbility and resources. Have AgrAbility promotional materials at all military installations, Alaska Department of Labor job centers, farm equipment gardening supply & heavy equipment stores available for pick up by patrons. Objective: Provide direct education for farmers, farm workers and their families. Provide a customized 'Alaska New Farmer Academy' for the general public and target marketed to veterans to begin in Fall 2019 or Spring 2020. Objective: Alaska AgrAbility Project staff will participate in National AgrAbility Project (NAP) training opportunities to enhance core competencies in order to better serve AgrAbility customers. The plan is to market all of the National AgrAbility Project (NAP) training opportunities to relevant partner organizations, CES personnel, and the general public (farmers/ranchers/fishers) when appropriate. The webinars are very beneficial to exposing these groups to new technologies and concepts pertinent to AgrAbility work and have proven to be invaluable. After discussion with the NAP another plan is to do widespread marketing for the AgrAbility Virtual NTW Workshop this coming year. The intent is to have virtual sites at various locations around the state where participants can go attend as a group and have a facilitated discussion after the webinars on various topics. This is meant to increase awareness and act as an informal needs assessment in communities around topics delivered. Objective: Provide direct, on-site assistance to farmers, farm workers and their family members with disabilities and returning veterans with disabilities to help them attain independence and economic security. Through the linkage with the project's new non-profit partner ATLA, referrals will come into the AgrAbility Project Director where an initial intake process will take place to collect data. The Project Director will work with ATLA personnel to ensure that a further more in-depth individual assessment takes place and an on-site assessment scheduled. AT consultation and plan development for farmer/rancher/fisher clientele to promote independence, enhanced QOL, and sustainability of the farming. Objective: Collaborate with FVC, Alaskan farmer veterans and VA VR&E to assist returning veterans with disabilities in achieving independence and farm profitability Collaborate with the national Farmer Veteran Coalition (FVC) office to send out information about the AgrAbility project in Alaska. Begin to build a list of interested veterans who are interested in forming a FVC Alaska State Chapter. Work with the national FVC office to begin the process to start a state chapter. Put together a veteran farmer advisory group to guide the AgrAbility project with needs and direction that the veteran farms are seeking. Advance engagement with veteran farmers in the National FVC Stakeholders Conference in November 17-20, 2019 and the 2020 AgrAbility NTW in March 23-26, 2020 by offering stipends to veteran farmers. Collaborate with the WA FVC chapter to consider collaboration on training and resources.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Due to the loss of the original non-profit partner due to leadership transitions, financial contraints and loss of personnel the Alaska AgrAbility project did not provide on-site assessment services to any farmers in this period. However, there is an interest list of farmers interested in assessments and at events, conferences, and meetings many people indicated that they were extremely excited to see this project in Alaska. One of the State of Alaska legislators said she was "extremely happy to hear the program was in Alaska", she is a big supporter of agriculture in the state and is a very bid advocate for individuals with any type of disability to become more self reliant. She is also very concerned about the food security in Alaska. Currently as indicated by the Alaska Division of Agriculture, 95% of all food consumed by Alaskans is imported into the state. There is a revised plan to work to reach the major goal for this project in Y2 of the project now that a new non-profit partner has been selected to assist with on-site assessments and an intake process to mee the growing need of AgrAbility clientele.
Publications
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