Dr. LaVona Traywick - AgrAbility, Division of Agricuture
[U of A University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture Research and
Extension, University of Arkansas System]
[Dr. Traywick walks around a goat farm.] Owning a farm can be a lot of work, even though it is rewarding. But having
a medical condition such as arthritis or lower back pain, does make the everyday
chores on the farm much more difficult.
[Arkansas AgrAbility] Using Assistive Technology though, we can make these chores a lot easier.
This is Kim and she is raising show goats. She’s one of our AgrAbility clients
and she has survived cancer. [Dr. Traywick and Kim standing in front of a barn
with goats.]
[Dr. Traywick] Kim, what makes it hard for you on the farm now?
[Kim] Well, after having surgery, it was difficult to lift or to pull or to exert a
lot of effort in feeding and watering and handling the goats and hauling hay and
feed, all the things to go on with raising goats. [Video shows Kim pulling
a water hose across the ground. Kim carries buckets of feed.]
[Dr. Traywick] Well, with our AgrAbility program we have been able to give
her some simple assistive technology to make some of these everyday chores a lot
easier.
What we did for Kim was recommend that she purchase a water hose splitter.
That way she can run water to all the various locations and she doesn’t have to
haul the water hoses or the buckets of water. Now Kim can water everything from
one faucet. [Video shows a water faucet with a 4 hose splitter with
valves. Kim fills up large buckets of with water.]
[Dr. Traywick] So in addition to watering, you also have to feed.
[Kim] Yes I do and after surgery, I couldn’t lift a 50 lb bag of feed. But now I
have this utility cart that I can load my feed on, I can load hay, there’s lots
of things I can use my cart for. [Video shows a hand utility cart with
feed bags and buckets of feed.]
[Dr. Traywick] So this is just two examples of suggestions from the AgrAbility program. So
has it helped?
[Kim] Absolutely. If it hadn’t of been for AgrAbility and the suggestions that we
implemented, I would have only been able to keep a few of my goats and would
have had to sell the rest. [Video shows Kim pulling her utility cart filled with
feed and feeding her goats.]
[Narrator] To learn more about this and other topics, contact your county
extension agent and visit uaex.edu.
[Title slide - Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service. various pictures of
people, crops and farming equipment]
[U of A University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture Research and
Extension, University of Arkansas System]
University of Arkansas • Division of Agriculture
Cooperative Extension Service
2301 South University Avenue
Little Rock, Arkansas 72204 • USA
Phone (501) 671-2000 • Fax (501) 671-2209
