User:WhiskeyKate/sandbox

Introduction
AgrAbility is a nonprofit program providing assistance to agricultural workers affected by disability and their family members. The United States Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture sponsors AgrAbility based on competitive grants hosted at [Land-grant university|Land Grant Universities] partnered with one or more nonprofit disability organizations. Currently the National AgrAbility Project (NAP) is hosted at Purdue University and there are 25 State and Regional AgrAbility Projects (SRAPs) throughout the United States.

History
The program is based off of the work of three land grant universities which responded to the needs of farmers with disabilities by creating resources to assist the transition back into the workforce and design modifications of tools and farm machinery. In 1968, the Vermont Rural and Farm Family Vocational Rehabilitation Program began as a cooperative effort between the Vermont Division of Vocational Rehabilitation Services and the University of Vermont Cooperative Extension Service. In the 1980s, a farmer asked a professor at Purdue University for assistance in modifying his tractor to accommodate his severe disabilities which led to Breaking New Ground in Indiana, now the host of the Indiana AgrAbility Project. In 1990, the 101st United States Congress passed the the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990, also known as the 1990 Farm Bill, authorizing funding for sustainable agriculture programs.

Organization
SRAPs provide assistance to farmers with disabilities and their family members throughout their state as a cooperative service between a land grant university and nonprofit disability organizations. The National AgrAbility Project provides "technical assistance and professional training" to the SRAPs and answers requests from farmers living in states not supported by a SRAP.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported August 2012 5,064,000 working Americans have some form of disability

http://blogs.usda.gov/2012/07/10/agrability-helps-farmers-continue-working/