2020 Virtual NTW

Presentation Files and Handouts

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2020 AgrAbility Virtual National Training Workshop
January 28-30

Click on the presentation title to view the webinar recording

Tuesday, January 28

  • 12:00 p.m. EST: AgrAbility and Agricultural All-Terrain Vehicle Safety (per the presenter’s request, the recording of this webinar is no longer available)
    • Presentation file not available
    • Farzaneh Khorsandi, The University of California Davis
      • AgrAbility clients and other agricultural workers often use all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) and other off-road vehicles to help them with mobility around their farms. ATV crashes are one of the leading causes of death and injuries in the agriculture industry in the United States. In this presentation, we will evaluate the current situation and possible solutions related to agricultural ATV safety. Potential injury-preventative actions were evaluated based on the hierarchy of control, including elimination or substitution, engineering control, administrative authority, training, and personal protective equipment.
  • 3:00 p.m. EST: Applications of Cultural Humility in Everyday AgrAbility
    • Presentation file
    • Esmeralda Mandujano, California AgrAbility
      • There are two approaches to engaging with community members of different cultures from the service provider or agency representative: cultural competence and cultural humility. Cultural competence is the approach traditionally instructed at major institutions; however, one of its major drawbacks is that culture is ever-evolving, and it is impossible to become an expert in someone else’s culture. Cultural humility focuses on self-humility, resulting in increasing the quality of interpersonal interactions. Cultural humility is an expansion of cultural competence. We will explore the main difference between these two approaches and how it can increase rapport between AgrAbility clients and staff.

Wednesday, January 29

  • 12:00 p.m. EST: Low-Tech Assistive Technology for Farmers Worldwide 
    • Presentation file
    • Ned Stoller, Michigan AgrAbility
      • Low-tech assistive technology is readily available, requires little training to use, and has minimal cost to construct. Complex assistive technology has been developed for almost every task in our high-tech world of electronics and computer aided design, but is often inaccessible because of high cost and fragile parts or scarce materials. Low-tech assistive technology enables people with disabilities to move about, grip tools, and decrease back pain. This technology can be constructed from local materials worldwide by resident craftsmen. Farm workers in developing countries can use this low-tech AT to produce food for themselves and their families.
  • 3:00 p.m. EST: USDA’s AgVets Program and Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network (FRSAN) Program
    • Presentation file
    • Brent Elrod, USDA/NIFA
      • The Enhancing Agricultural Opportunities for Military Veterans (AgVets) Programprovides grants to non-profits to increase the number of military veterans gaining knowledge and skills through comprehensive, hands-on and immersive model farm and ranch programs offered regionally that lead to successful careers in the food and agricultural sector. The program encourages the development of training opportunities specifically designed for military veterans. The purpose of the Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network (FRSAN) Program is to establish a network that connects individuals who are engaged in farming, ranching, and other agriculture-related occupations to stress assistance programs. The establishment of a network that assists farmers and ranchers in time of stress can offer a conduit to improving behavioral health awareness, literacy, and outcomes for agricultural producers, workers and their families. This webinar will provide overviews of both programs.

Thursday, January 30

  • 12:00 p.m. EST: In the Field: Case Study Examples on the Benefit of Collaboration Between AT Act Programs and AgrAbility
    • Presentation file
    • Kim Karwal, Easterseals Iowa Rural Solutions and Assistive Technology Program, & Laura Plummer, Wisconsin Department of Health Services
      • This webinar was hosted by staff members from two states that demonstrate the benefit of collaboration between service lines in very different ways. Assistive technology programs and services are underutilized by external rehabilitation programs. Enhanced collaboration and networking could provide greater access to tools that will help individuals live, learn, work, and play more inclusively and independently in their communities.
  • 3:00 p.m. EST: Outreach & Assistance for Socially Disadvantaged Farmers & Ranchers & Veteran Farmers & Ranchers
    • Presentation file: Purdue
    • Presentation file: Peoples Foundation
    • Presentation file: Legacy Farming and Health Group
    • Chuck Baldwin & Ed Sheldon, National AgrAbility Project; Tameka Peoples, Peoples Foundation; & John Jamerson, Legacy Farming and Health Group
      • During fall 2019, National AgrAbility joined forces with southern Indiana-based Legacy Farming and Health Group and with Peoples Foundation of Lompoc, California to form the Legacy Innovation Farming Economics Project (LIFE). Supported by the USDA Outreach and Assistance for Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers and Veteran Farmers and Ranchers Program (also known as the 2501 Program), the LIFE project promotes awareness and use of USDA programs among socially disadvantaged farmers and veterans, and enhances entrepreneurship, marketing, and technical skills through workshops and educational programming. The LIFE Project – and other AgrAbility-affiliated 2501 grant projects described during this webinar – can serve as models for cooperation between nonprofit grassroots organizations that work with socially disadvantaged audiences and state and regional AgrAbility projects seeking to enhance services to those communities.