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Carolina Farm Credit recently made a donation to the North Carolina AgrAbility Partnership (N.C. AgrAbility) to assist an Iredell County farmer.

N.C. AgrAbility serves people engaged in production agriculture statewide who are limited by a wide range of physical, mental, age-related disabilities and health-related issues.

The donation by Carolina Farm Credit was used to assist Adrian Crosby of Crosby Farms & Greenhouses in Iredell County. Crosby has been battling multiple respiratory illnesses for many years, which has made continuing to work productively on his farm increasingly difficult. Crosby was in need of a high-efficiency powered respirator and industrial grade filters for the unit in order to be able to continue to work on his farm without irritation of his respiratory condition caused by dust particulates common with his agricultural operation.

“At Carolina Farm Credit, we have a passion to preserve and promote the farmer, the family, and our rural communities. By partnering with AgrAbility we played a small part in assisting Mr. Crosby with meeting his special needs so he can continue to farm,” said Mike Morton, CEO of Carolina Farm Credit.

N.C. AgrAbility worked closely with Crosby to identify the best respirator for his needs, as well as other concerns related to farming with a disability. Carolina Farm Credit assisted Crosby with the purchase of the needed respirator and supplies through a 50/50 cost share.

N.C. AgrAbility is a USDA-NIFA-funded program coordinated through the land-grant universities. Partners include North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University, North Carolina State University, the North Carolina Agromedicine Institute, East Carolina University, and Disability Resource Center for Independent Living.

Through N.C. AgrAbility, consumers - benefit from services such as home and farm assessments to identify barriers to completing tasks; recommending assistive technologies, work practices and other solutions to reducing limitations; providing education and training related to farming with disabilities. While these services are at no cost to the producer, N.C. AgrAbility cannot purchase assistive technology. Financial assistance for assistive technology depends solely on - support from community partners and other state vocational programs.

To make a referral, to see how your organization can help farmers across the state, or to learn more about N.C. AgrAbility visit www.ncagrability.com.

Carolina Farm Credit serves more than 8,800 members with loans outstanding totaling more than $1.3 billion. The association’s territory covers the western half of North Carolina, with service centers located in Albemarle, Asheboro, Asheville, Boone, Brown Summit, Burnsville, Carthage, Concord, Ellerbe, Graham, Hendersonville, Hillsborough, Jefferson, Lenoir, Lexington, Lincolnton, Marshall, Mocksville, Monroe, Murphy, Newton, Pilot Mountain, Roxboro, Rural Hall, Salisbury, Shelby, Siler City, Sparta, Spindale, Statesville, Taylorsville, Wadesboro, Waynesville, Wilkesboro, Yadkinville, and Yanceyville.