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Explore Adaptive Farming in Action: Visit an Agrability Client’s Farm in Allegan County

By Samantha Wolfe

Doug VerHoeven, a corn and soybean farmer in Allegan County, has been farming from a wheelchair for more than 45 years. Through innovation, determination and support from the Michigan AgrAbility project he has adapted his operation with a wide range of assistive technologies to continue doing the work he loves. In 2019, Doug transformed a portion of his farm into a demonstration site, showcasing the tools and modifications that make it possible for individuals with mobility challenges to remain active and successful in agriculture.

The site features a variety of adaptive equipment, including vehicle lifts, ramps, outdoor mobility vehicles, hitching systems and other practical tools designed to simplify day-to-day farming tasks. These solutions offer powerful examples of how farms can be made more accessible for people with disabilities, arthritis, aging-related changes or other physical limitations.

Source : msu.edu

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How American Farmers Harvest 1.15 Billion Pounds of Sunflowers

Video: How American Farmers Harvest 1.15 Billion Pounds of Sunflowers

Across the open plains of North Dakota and South Dakota, sunflower fields turn the American landscape into a sea of gold. In this farming documentary, we go inside modern sunflower farming to see how farmers plant, grow, harvest, clean, dry, process, and transform sunflower seeds into valuable products used every day.

In 2024, American farmers harvested about 1.15 billion pounds of sunflowers. This video follows the full journey from warm spring planting to combine harvesting, seed cleaning, storage, oil extraction, refining, roasting, packaging, and animal feed production.

You will see how sunflower seeds are processed into cooking oil, roasted snacks, bakery ingredients, birdseed, livestock feed, and useful byproducts. From golden fields to modern processing plants, this is the story of how a beautiful flower becomes one of America’s important oilseed crops.

Watch until the end to discover how sunflower farming connects farmers, machines, factories, food production, and sustainable agriculture.