The Tennessee AgrAbility program connects veterans and other individuals with disabilities to resources that help them launch into farming and build sustainable operations. The resources range from grants and other funding to specialized assistive devices and equipment that can make farming tasks easier.
AgrAbility is a USDA NIFA collaboration with Extension programs at 1862 and 1890 land-grant institutions. In Tennessee, the program is operated by UT Extension and Tennessee State University Cooperative Extension in partnership with the STAR Center, one of the Tennessee Assistive Technology Centers.
Earlier this month, Tennessee AgrAbility hosted a Resource Ability Assistive Technology Access Fair with the Tennessee Department of Human Services Division of Rehabilitation Services. Held in Lebanon, Tennessee, and occurring during National Disability Employment Awareness Month, the fair showcased the importance of assistive technology in the lives of individuals with disabilities and demonstrated some of the latest machinery available to help people, including farmers, with different abilities. Watch a Marketing and Communications news video about AgrAbility at the event. Keynote speaker Carey Portell shared her own experiences of breaking through limitations caused by significant injuries to create a thriving life in agriculture.
Tennessee AgrAbility area specialist Eileen Legault says, “The veterans I have met who want to farm have skill sets from the military that work for farming and transition well. They get to be their own boss, and that is one thing they definitely like. But they’re hard workers, and they want to learn. When they see we have tools that can help them farm, ones that will make their life easier and help them do tasks, they are receptive to us helping them.”
Explore how Tennessee AgrAbility serves veterans through an Our Tennessee article and a news video that profiles a producer affiliated with the program. Legault encourages people to contact her to learn more about the program.
A different form of veteran outreach at UTIA occurs through the horticultural therapy program at the UT Gardens, Knoxville. Since 2012, the program has served more than 7,500 individuals with disabilities, and those include veterans.
In spring 2022, program director Derrick Stowell, an adjunct professor in the Department of Plant Sciences, presented a workshop to a group of veterans engaged in FrontLine Gardens, a Knoxville non-profit organization that serves veterans and law enforcement officers who have experienced injuries or post-traumatic stress disorders as a result of their service. The workshop on therapeutic benefits of gardening is one that Stowell wants to offer to more veterans ahead when funding permits.
Over the past five years, Stowell has conducted workshops throughout the state in partnership with Tennessee AgrAbility to introduce veterans to horticultural therapy and other resources for becoming farmers. “Through this outreach, we also have connected veterans interested in going back to college with resources at UT to help them achieve that goal. Several veterans expressed the desire to learn more about horticultural therapy, and some of them enrolled in our new horticultural therapy certificate program.”
Finally, a small effort but one with big goals took place in March 2022, when the Institute hosted a Green Zone training for faculty, staff, and students. The UT Veterans Success Center training, available to units throughout the university, aims to expand awareness of UT resources available to veterans and about how the GI Bill works. Another goal is to foster understanding of how student veteran needs and sensitivities can differ from those of traditional university students. Overall, the workshop strives to empower participants to become effective advocates for student veteran members of the university community.