Program helps farmers with
disabilities
By Jon Gilman
Staff Writer
Helen and Ron Thomas were driving home from Ohio
Oct. 6, 1991, after the couple spent the day at a gourd show. They were
driving back to their farm in Tangier, Ind.
Helen thought she saw a deer at the edge of the
road. She swerved, hit a culvert and the car tumbled through the air.
Helen was wearing her seatbelt and she escaped the accident without
injuries.
Ron, however, was not as fortunate. He had broken
his back and was paralyzed from the waist down.
Later that night, as Helen sat in the waiting room
at the hospital, she began to look through some magazines. One of particular
interest was published by Purdue's Breaking New Ground program.
She learned that 19 percent of active farm operators
in Indiana are no longer able to perform essential tasks due to a disability.
She also learned that the program helps such farmers to continue working.
This year Sigma Alpha sorority has started the
Jack O’Lantern Jog, which will start Sunday in front of the Recreational
Sports Center. Registration for the 5K race/jog/run begins at 7 a.m.
and costs $15. All proceeds will benefit Breaking New Ground.
Helen convinced Ron to attend an informational
session on the program.
At the session, Ron met another farmer in a wheelchair.
The man explained to Ron all of the improvisations that Breaking New
Ground had helped him make to his farming techniques. Ron and Helen
immediately contacted the program.
Breaking New Ground sent several publications explaining
the different modifications that could be made to Ron's home, work areas
and equipment.
A few weeks later, the program sent three engineering
students to Ron's farm. They designed a folding set of three steel steps
that could be attached to Ron's tractor and also designed covered sidewalks
and ramps for Ron to use in his wheelchair.
"I don’t know how in the world he can get
up on that tractor, but he does. It's amazing what can happen when someone
really wants to do something," Helen said.
Members of the program continually checked up on
Ron and took pictures of his modifications for their magazine. Eventually
Ron became a consultant for the program and he continues to hold that
position.
Helen says that Ron feels as if he is completing
a cycle — a disabled farmer once gave him the will to succeed and
now he does the same for others.
"Ron smiles all the time. People wonder how he
can be smiling, I think it's because he has hope. Breaking New Ground
has played a big part in that," Helen said.
Breaking New Ground has a long history at Purdue.
In 1979, a farmer with a severe spinal cord injury called Purdue's department
of agricultural and biological engineering. He wanted to get back on
his tractor and continue farming, but was not sure how to.
Purdue sent several engineering students to the
farmer's home and devised a lift that helped him get into his tractor.
Thus, Breaking New Ground was born. The program
works in conjunction with the Southern Indiana Center for Independent
Living to perform service projects that educate and train farmers on
the available technology for disabled workers. Breaking New Ground has
covered a wide range of injuries such as amputation, head trauma, paralysis
and visual impairment.
"As physically demanding as farming is, it is extremely
difficult for farmers to continue working with a disability. Breaking
New Ground attempts to modify a disabled farmer's equipment to ease
the burden of his work," said Paul Jones, manager of the program
since January 2000.
Since 1979, Breaking New Ground has spread to 18
states and has become the most extensive program in the country for
aiding disabled farmers. The program was initially funded by private
donations and grants until 1990, when Congress passed the Farm Bill.
This legislation established the AgrAbility Project within the U.S.
Department of Agriculture, which has since been the primary source of
funds.
Interested students are encouraged to attend the
race, which aims to improve the agriculture and overall economy in Indiana.
n For further information, please contact Breaking
New Ground at bng@ecn.purdue.edu.
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