When planning the rehabilitation of your old barn, one of the greatest concerns can be making sure that you have hired the right people to do the work. While choosing the right contractor may not be as simple as flipping through the Yellow Pages™, it need not be difficult.
Farms are disappearing and being consolidated quicker than ever today. The reasons why are not difficult to understand. Between the low margin of profit that often accompanies farming small acreage and the rising price of agricultural land sold to urban developers, many small farms are being assimilated into larger farms or merely disappearing. According to the USDA Statistics Service (2009), from 1970 to 2007, Ohio lost over 36,000 farms and 3.3 million acres of farmland.
Tax incentives are one of the many advantages to rehabilitating your old barn. For more reasons, see fact sheet AEX-641, "Reasons for Rehabilitation." While the process, and even the paperwork, can be a little daunting at first glance, these tax incentives can tip the scales towards rehabilitation over new construction or can make your rehabilitation project much more feasible. This fact sheet will inform you of tax deductions and credits that are available.
Disasters are devastating. They change daily routines, create financial concerns about damaged or lost property, and can displace entire families. Losing a pet is also devastating, but when combined with a disaster, pet owners suffer greater emotional trauma in an already tragic situation. To help people cope with losing pets during disasters, the federal government has enacted a public law, commonly called the PETS Act.
Pacemakers today are designed to interrupt lives as little as possible. Farmers returning to work with a pacemaker can raise some concerns. Minimal restrictions are required in the work place, but several modifications may be necessary to the way tasks are performed.
Universal Design is a worldwide movement promoting design concepts and principles to support an expanding demographic of people living with a wide array of disabilities, age-related limitations, and chronic health conditions. Universal Design is the creation of products and environments meant to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without need for adaptation or specialization. The primary focus of Universal Design has revolved around elements of the home and development of user-friendly products.
People with a pre-existing condition, such as limited mobility, heart disease, and taking certain medications can be at higher risk to a heat stress injury. The most serious are heat stroke and heat exhaustion. With or without a pre-existing condition, heat stroke and exhaustion are both serious medical emergencies and action should be taken immediately.
Agriculture is a labor-intensive occupation that involves a hands-on approach to every work day. Safety precautions need to be considered when working around farm equipment or livestock. If precautions are not taken seriously, it is easy to be caught-in, caught-between, or struck by objects, leading to serious injuries. People with limited mobility, lack of range of motion, or diminished reaction time are at higher risk.
Several types of walking and working surfaces are on farms and farmers may encounter some or even all of them throughout the workday. Farmers with a disability or mobility limitation can have an increased risk of injury from a trip, slip, or fall because of the variety of surfaces they encounter on a regular basis. Individuals facing mobility issues or a diminished sense of balance are at greatest risk of injury when transferring from one surface to the next.
Older farmers remain active on the farm for several reasons including good health, desire to remain active, financial, or enjoyment of life on the farm. The average age of farmers in Ohio is 56 years. However, farming is traditionally a labor-intensive profession that involves physically demanding work. For older farmers, this can present problems in the form of health or safety issues. Many farmers as they age may not be aware of changes in their sensory systems because these changes are usually gradual. Some considerations include:
