Source: NC A&T COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES, 3/22/22

On a hot and humid July day, Suzanne Ramsey was out on her Gator™ utility vehicle surveying the vegetables, berries and flowers on her farm near Mooresville in Rowan County.

Later in the day, her voice cracking with emotion, she acknowledged that she couldn’t work her farm without the aid of the Gator and that the Gator and other assistive devices were made possible through her connection to the NC AgrAbility Partnership.

“I am so much more independent and can do things that I couldn’t do before,” said Ramsey. “It opened up the world for me.”

Ramsey suffered severe injuries when her leg was crushed by a forklift years ago. She also experienced paralysis after a bout with a virus that makes one side of her body weaker and affects her balance. She had resigned herself to pushing through the pain, fatigue and balance challenges for as long as possible.

Then in 2019, she heard about the NC AgrAbility program through a display at the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association’s annual Sustainable Agriculture Conference. She contacted Beatriz (Betty) Rodriguez, project director of the NC AgrAbility Partnership with Cooperative Extension at N.C A&T.

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