LONDON, Ohio – Ohio State University Extension has received a 4-year, $720,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to assist farmers with disabilities through the national AgrAbility program. Visitors to Ohio State University's Farm Science Review can stop by the Safety Education Area to learn more.
Farm Science Review will be held Sept. 22-24 at the Molly Caren Agricultural Center in London, Ohio. The Safety Education Area is located on Friday Avenue of the Review's exhibitor grounds. Information on AgrAbility will be available throughout the show. Cake and refreshments will be served as part of a celebratory kick-off of the Ohio program.
"Visitors to Farm Science Review can stop by the booth to learn more about AgrAbility and what the program can do for them," said Dee Jepsen, OSU Extension's state safety leader. "The program has a mission to enable a lifestyle of high quality for farmers and other agricultural workers with disabilities, so that they, their families, and their communities continue to succeed in rural America."
With the grant, Jepsen and her colleagues will be advancing efforts to address a wide variety of disabling conditions faced by many working in agriculture, including arthritis, spinal cord injuries, back impairments, amputations, brain injury, visual impairments, hearing impairments, disabling diseases, cerebral palsy and respiratory impairments.
To learn more about the national AgrAbility program, log on to http://www.agrabilityproject.org/. Ohio now joins 27 other states with AgrAbility projects.
In addition to the AgrAbility program, specialists at Farm Science Review will also provide information on farm safety, display the new lighting and marking standards for horse-drawn vehicles, hold grain rescue demonstrations, and demonstrate the safe handling of all-terrain vehicles (ATVs). The ATV safety program will focus on the proper way to dress when operating an ATV, how to fit an ATV to the rider, and how to properly operate an ATV.
Farm Science Review is sponsored by the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences, Ohio State University Extension, and the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center. It attracts upwards of 140,000 visitors from all over the country and Canada, who come for three days to peruse 4,000 product lines from 600 commercial exhibitors, and learn the latest in agricultural research, conservation, family and nutrition, and gardening and landscape.
Tickets are $8 at the gate or $5 in advance when purchased from county offices of OSU Extension or participating agribusinesses. Children 5 and younger are admitted free. Hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sept. 22-23 and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sept. 24.
For more information, log on to http://fsr.osu.edu. Farm Science Review is also on Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/OhioStateFSR), Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/FarmScienceReview), and Ning (http://fsrosu.ning.com).