The Assistive Technology Program for Farmers with Disabilities (AgrAbility) is a USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture program that provides education and direct technical assistance to farmers with disabilities and their family members. AgrAbility is currently active in 21 states across the country.
When a half-ton bale of hay fell off a wagon in 2019, striking the back of Donald Adams’ head, the future of his family farm fell into immediate uncertainty.
More than 200 head of cattle are worked on the land at Coastal Acres, a Georgia operation that involves intense manual labor.
“Donald sustained a C5-C6 spinal cord injury and was paralyzed from the neck down,” said Laura Adams, Adams’ wife and the farm’s co-owner.
While farming looks a lot different for the Adams family in the years since the accident, Donald Adams is back on his land caring for his cattle thanks to countless doctors, surgeons and the Georgia AgrAbility program.
Empowering Farmers with Disabilities
The state's AgrAbility program has focused on promoting independence for members of the agricultural community who have disabilities, both acquired and developmental, since 2005.
Georgia’s program is coordinated by the University of Georgia (UGA) College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and the Institute on Human Development and Disability in the UGA College of Family and Consumer Sciences (FACS).
“Each program, ours included, services farmers who have a disability or health condition, anything from arthritis to spinal cord injuries,” said Kyle Haney, a rural health manager and public service professional in FACS. “We have multiple grants under the Farm Again umbrella, but all the work we do involves disability in agriculture.”
The Farm Again team coordinates Farm Boot Camp, established to serve a growing population of veterans with workshops and technical services as they begin or return to farming, and multiple initiatives that promote stress prevention and community resilience for farmers in addition to the AgrAbility program.
“Every AgrAbility partnership begins with a farm assessment and accommodation request where we help get new equipment out to the farms,” Haney said. “We’re working with about 70 farmers each year across the state.”
Transforming work at Coastal Acres
Coastal Acres received its first piece of equipment on a personal loan from AgrAbility in November 2021: a lift on the side of Donald Adams’ tractor to bring him from the ground to the cab. Because he could no longer turn his head, a backup camera was next.
While he is now able to walk using canes, automatic gate openers on several of their eight pastures improve Donald Adams’ independence while checking cows and help him conserve energy for other activities. A cattle chute and working pens with hydraulic controls make it feasible for him to administer shots and tag cattle, while a multipurpose lift ensures better access to all types of equipment, whether a tractor, track hoe, bulldozer or skid steer.
“It takes time — and a lot of paperwork — to get some of the equipment,” Laura Adams said. “But it is fantastic to work with the AgrAbility team. They really deliver.”
The most beneficial piece of equipment from the partnership between the Adams family and AgrAbility doesn’t run on either diesel or electricity. She runs on four legs and answers to Skippy.
In 2020, Haney introduced Donald and Laura Adams to PHARM Dog USA, a program that aims to help farmers with disabilities by providing farm or service dogs trained to perform specific tasks. Tasks can include managing livestock, retrieving or picking up dropped tools, opening latch gate systems, carrying buckets, bracing farmers with stability issues or running for help when needed.
“Skippy filled that role — it would take three or four people to herd 40 cows out of one pasture to another. Skippy and I can do it by ourselves,” Laura Adams said during an interview with Farm Bureau. “Skippy could do it by herself, to be honest.”
The border collie, Australian shepherd and Catahoula hound mix now spends her days watching cattle gates, wading into muddy areas that are inaccessible to Donald Adams, moving cows between pastures and — most importantly — serving as a loyal companion and inspiration for the Adams family.
“With this type of injury, you’ve got to stay busy all the time, and that’s why Skippy helping us is responsible for a lot of my recovery,” Donald Adams said.
“Because we have Skippy to help us, every day we’re doing something. If it wasn’t for her helping us with the cows to keep me busy, things might not be as good as they are now.”