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AgrAbility in Michigan
Changing the Lives of Farmers in Michigan
Farming is one of the most dangerous occupations in the county. When an injury, disability or illness occurs, we can help with recommendations on how job tasks can be modified, assistance with wheelchairs, hearing aids, and other physical restorative devices, assistance with assessments, vocational counseling or specialized job training, medical treatment, therapy or counseling. Any individual with a disability involved in the agriculture industry can qualify. The AgrAbility program is offered statewide in partnership with Michigan State University Extension, Michigan Rehabilitation Services, Michigan Farm Bureau and UCP to help farmers deal with disabling conditions that limit their ability to work. Services include farm assessments, referrals for assistive technology, counseling and physical and occupational therapy. If you have any questions regarding AgrAbility, please email Kelly Kackley at Michigan State University. You may also visit them at their website: www.michiganagrability.org. You can also visit the Michigan AgrAbility Program Facebook Page.
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AgrAbility in Action
 Don has farmed his family’s land in Sebawaing, Michigan all of his life. It was overwhelming to face the reality last winter that his body could no longer do what it had once done with ease every day. The demands of farming had taken their toll. His eyesight was failing. He suffered from chronic neck, shoulder and back pain. He was diagnosed with arthritis and fibromyalgia. Don, Nancy (his wife) and their children knew there were only two options: stop farming or find a way to adapt the farming equipment to ease the pain and compensate for the impaired visibility.
Like every good farmer, Don is part mechanic, electrician, carpenter and inventor. He had adapted plenty of farm implements over the years. However, to continue farming with his debilitating arthritis, fibromyalgia and chronic pain, he knew that he needed something greater. He would need to ensure that his tractor could compensate for his visual impairment and minimize the physical demands of planting and harvesting his 475 acres of row crops including dry beans, sugar beets and corn. The tractor needed an adaptive device to give him control in the fields without taxing his body.
Don looked seriously at giving up farming. Then he remembered an article that he had read about a farmer who turned to technology for solutions. The AgrAbility Program helped that farmer and maybe, he thought, the Program could help him.
Michigan AgrAbility immediately put Don in touch with Ned Stoller, a fellow farmer and technology expert, who promised to come out to the farm and assess Don’s situation. “After that phone call, I was hopeful for the first time in a long while,” recalls Don.
As part of the AgrAbility Team, Ned visited Don many times on his farm to understand Don’s physical needs and farm operations. Together they identified and prioritized five accommodations to the farm that would allow Don to continue actively farming.
In August 2009, the first accommodation was installed--a GPS system for Don Stecker’s tractor. Now a satellite guides the tractor through the crop rows with accuracy. “While the manufacturer stated that the system is precise within six inches, I have found the accuracy to be within two inches at most if I maintain a slow speed. I am legally blind so having that level of accuracy given my visual impairments is amazing,” says Don.
“The GPS system is so simple to operate but I am still learning its full capacity. Once programmed, I simply start the tractor, engage the GPS, take my hands off the wheel, and monitor the activity from the large LCD screen beside him. Of course, I do have to turn at the end of each crop row, but that’s it. It minimizes the repetitive strain on my neck, shoulder and arm. I am looking forward to testing it at harvest time,” explains Don. The GPS system can also be used to record specific details about different fields; track driver hours; and maintain farm records.
“Today, I am not only grateful to Ned for his compassion and knowledge, I also consider him to be a friend. Ned is a farmer like me—that made it easy to work with him. He understood that when your dad had to take a job in Detroit in order to buy back the family’s farm after the Depression, you will do anything to keep the farm going,” concludes Don.
 What’s next on the priority list for Don Stecker? Ned is working on securing assistance through Michigan AgrAbility to heat and insulate Don’s large barn where he stores and works on his equipment during the dormant Michigan winters. Insulation will enable Don to conduct routine maintenance on the tractor as well as modifications to other farm implements without stiffness and muscle pain caused by the cold. Next year Don hopes to be able to get a GPS System for planting—and Michigan AgrAbility will be there to help him get the assistance that he needs.
“Easter Seals has been a proud partner in the Michigan AgrAbility program for nearly 10 years—and helping Don Stecker with his GPS system is satisfying for us personally and professionally. When Ned called to request funding this project, I didn’t hesitate. Every case is unique but helping Don maintain his independence and support his family…well, that’s what it is all about,” says John Cocciolone, President/CEO of Easter Seals Michigan.
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