USDA – NIFA
2019 brought radical changes to AgrAbility’s federal parent/funding agency – USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA). Through a well-publicized (and controversial) decision, the agency was moved last fall from Washington, D.C., to Kansas City, Missouri, along with USDA’s Economic Research Service.
Aida Balsano
Among the consequences of that move was the departure of a significant number of NIFA employees. One of those was Aida Balsano, who had been AgrAbility’s national project leader since 2013. Aida was a strong advocate and ambassador for AgrAbility and was very supportive of AgrAbility staffs at both the state and national levels. The National AgrAbility Project extends its heartfelt thanks to Aida for all her efforts over the years.
Bradley Rein, USDA Photo by Preston Keres
While Aida’s departure is a significant loss to AgrAbility, program staff members are thankful that longtime national project leader Brad Rein will be coordinating NIFA’s AgrAbility efforts for the time being. Brad was the original project officer when AgrAbility was launched at the federal level in 1991, and he continued in that role until Aida assumed those responsibilities in 2013. Brad will remain at USDA’s offices in Washington, D.C.
USDA Program Specialist LeLan Dixon, who assisted Aida in facilitating AgrAbility activities, will assist Brad for now. Both Lelan and Brad are planning to attend the National Training Workshop in Madison, Wisconsin, this spring.
NIFA has settled on a permanent location in Kansas City and is in the process of hiring new staff. Further USDA personnel changes related to AgrAbility will likely come in 2020.
Washington State AgrAbility
For more than a decade, numerous individuals and organizations have worked to establish a greater AgrAbility presence in the Pacific Northwest. In addition to a National AgrAbility staff member living in Oregon for several years, regional AgrAbility workshops were held in Washington and Oregon, and funding proposals were submitted to USDA by Extension staff members from those states.
Finally, in 2019, Washington State University (WSU) was awarded a four-year AgrAbility project grant. Headquartered at Skagit County Extension, the program partners with organizations that include the Northwest Access Fund, Washington Assistive Technology Act Program (WATAP), Washington Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, WSU Medical School, Viva Farms, and Growing Veterans.
In addition to providing standard AgrAbility services like farm assessments, the project plans to establish an online “pathway to services” network for assisting consumers in finding resources. Staff also plan a variety of farm-based demonstrations of assistive technology plus an AT lending library to encourage higher acceptance rates of such technologies. Also planned is special outreach to some of the state’s underserved populations, such as Native Americans and migrant/seasonal farmworkers. Since Washington is divided by the Cascade Mountain Range into two main sections, AgrAbility staff will split work assignments based on geographical region.
Photo: Washington State Department of Agriculture
According to the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture, Washington ranks first in the U.S. for production of 11 commodities, including apples, sweet cherries, pears, hops, and red raspberries.1 About 70% of Washington’s total agricultural receipts are from crops, and about 30% are from livestock products, including dairy. Overall, Washington ranks 14th among the states in total agricultural receipts.2
1 https://www.nasda.org/organizations/washington-state-department-of-agriculture
2 https://www.netstate.com/economy/wa_economy.htm