PITTSFIELD, Pa. -- Ten years ago Mike and Reta Doty, who farm near here in Warren County, purchased their dream farm. It was a dilapidated farmstead with collapsing buildings and weed-encroached fields.  They weren’t naive about the state of the farm; but where others saw despair, they saw hope. The Dotys thought they’d raise beef cows and Jersey bulls, but when a neighbor needed six cows milked by hand, the Dotys stepped in. Before too long, Mike Doty was envisioning pastures filled with a healthy dairy herd and proper facilities to care for them.
This hard working and industrious couple began the laborious transformation of the farmstead, doing a vast majority of the work on their own, and primarily using the existing physical resources of the farm.
“The only part of the milkhouse that isn’t made from re-used materials is the plywood on the wall,” explains Mike. “Similarly, the first-class milking parlor was purchased for $200 from a producer who wanted to see it used by a fellow family farmer.”
The Dotys were open to whatever resources were available to them, and decided early-on to work closely with the local conservation district in the improvement of their farmstead. Since 2002, improvements have included: clearing brush, creating tree windbreaks, and building fencing for intensive grazing; installing running water in a 1200-gallon in-ground holding tank in the pasture; a hard-packed surface holding area and laneway to decrease hoof problems; and two diversion ditches to keep water from pooling at the barn. Their efforts earned them the 2008 Conservation Farm of the Year Award.
For Mike, all the physical work involved in the farm’s transformation has come at a steep price. A few years ago, he took a pretty hard fall onto his back and backside. It hurt pretty badly at the time, but with no health insurance, he decided not to get it checked out. The effects of the fall continued to linger, and a few months later, while they were digging out their proposed milking parlor by hand, Mike found himself flat on his back in bed for more than three weeks. The diagnosis was a herniated disk and severe arthritis in the upper back, and surgery wasn’t a viable option.
Since then Mike has continued his efforts to transform the farmstead, working around his condition as much as possible and accepting the support of his family, neighbors and friends when it proves to be too much. However, when he noticed an advertisement about the AgrAbility program in Hoard’s Dairyman this past spring, his natural curiosity and willingness to explore resources led him to contact AgrAbility for Pennsylvanians’ Project Coordinator, Linda Fetzer.
“Mr. Doty has been a true pleasure to work with,” states Ms. Fetzer. “He is so hard working and resourceful, and we were glad to assist him in identifying ways to decrease the amount of stress on his back on a daily basis.”
Fetzer and David Troutman, AgrAbility case manager, completed an on-farm evaluation of Mike and his needs on the farm, and provided that information to the local Office for Vocational Reha-bilitation, or OVR, at their request. “Our OVR agent, Sara James, had never worked with farmers,” explains Mike. “However, she went out of her way to help us, and was willing to learn all she could about farming, and the challenges of farming with a bad back.”
With the financial support of OVR, the Dotys completed the work in the milking parlor, as well as, procured additional mirrors and ‘quick hitches’ for the tractor to reduce the need to get on and off as frequently.
“We are so grateful for all the assistance we received from OVR,” says Mike today.  “It would have taken us another year or more to finish the parlor, and in the meantime it would have meant more hauling milkers and bending to milk in the tie-stall barn. Also, the hitches and the mirrors have really decreased the stress on my neck and back.”
The hitches and mirrors were installed on the Dotys’ ‘new’ International 1586 that they purchased from a neighbor with additional assistance from AgrAbility. In Pennsylvania, the AgrAbility partners include Penn State Cooperative Extension, Easter Seals Central Pa., and the Pennsylvania Assistive Technology Foundation, or PATF.
PATF is an under-used resource by producers who are farming with a disability or health condition. The organization provides low-interest loans for the purchase of assistive technology, or equipment that helps people cope with a disability.
The Dotys were able to receive a $5000 loan at 4% interest. The tractor was more powerful, and came with a more ergonomic seat, power steering and brakes, and hydraulic clutch – all of which made a world of difference in the level of discomfort Mike was experiencing on a day-to-day basis.
“We were so glad to be able to work with Mr. Doty,” says David Troutman, AgrAbility case manager and PATF employee. “He is exactly who we want to be helping more – hard working farmers who can really benefit from new or modified equipment that will make their lives easier and their pain less. Our organization exists to help anyone with a disability, and farmers and farm family members are just not taking advantage of the resources we can offer. I hope Mr. Doty’s story will help change that.”
AgrAbility for Pennsylvanians helps individuals who are coping with many different kinds of physical challenges, including arthritis, stroke, knee and back problems, amputations, vision and hearing disabilities, and many others. AgrAbility is a funded project by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Institute for Food and Agriculture (NIFA) and the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry (PDLI) Office of Vocational Rehabilitation (OVR).
For more information about the project, or to find out how AgrAbility can help you or someone you know, call toll free in Pennsylvania: 800-416-6061. The project may also be found on the web at http://AgExtEd.cas.psu.edu/agrab/. PATF may be reached by calling 888-744-1938; their TTY number is 877-693-7271.