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.
Algae are simple, plant-like organisms but do not have roots, stems, and leaves. There are almost 300,000 alga species distributed throughout the world in seawater, freshwater, and wastewater. Algae are typically photosynthetic, namely fixing CO₂ in the presence of sunlight to manufacture their own food, but some are heterotrophic with no requirement of light, assimilating organic compounds such as glucose and acetic acid as carbon sources. Most of the current research and development efforts have focused on microalgae due to their high growth rate and oil content.
Anaerobic digestion (AD) is a natural process in which organic materials are degraded by groups of microorganisms under oxygen-free conditions. This phenomenon is commonly observed at landfills where waste is buried under a thin layer of soil and greenhouse gasses such as carbon dioxide (CO₂) and methane (CH₄) are emitted. Methane is a global warming potential (GWP) gas that is estimated to be 20 times more effective in trapping heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide.
Photovoltaics (PV) is a solar power technology that uses solar cells to convert light from the sun directly into electricity. An individual PV cell is usually quite small, typically producing about 1 or 2 watts of power. To produce more power, cells can be interconnected and encapsulated to form PV modules, which is the product usually sold to the customer (Figure 1). The PV modules can in turn be combined and connected to form PV arrays of different sizes and power output.
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.
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:
Ergonomics is the science of designing the job, equipment, and workplace to fit the worker, while maintaining the efficiency of people in the workplace. The use of ergonomics keeps workers safe, comfortable, and productive. Improving work posture, reduced force, and less repetition prevents injuries. Due to the labor-intensive nature of farming, ergonomics can be of great value in reducing the risk of injuries. Remember that old habits do die hard and many farming practices have been passed down from generation to generation.
