Even with his son Duane’s help, Hess had difficulty spending long time periods on the tractors and in the barn. His wife, Cheryl, assisted milking the cows, but eventually wanted to retire from the activity. Hess realized he would have to find a better way to perform many of these labor-intensive activities.

Before AgrAbility, Hess made several modifications to his farm. One of these modifications was a low-cost milking parlor that Hess and his son built themselves. Three years ago, he changed his herd’s feeding system to intensive grazing. "The less I can be with the feed in the barn, the better off I am," said Hess. He believes that intensive grazing is also beneficial to the cattle, as it appears to be less demanding on the herd. These modifications reduced the daily labor required in the buildings; however, he still had problems keeping up with the manual labor and fieldwork.

Hess learned of AgrAbility through a past client and received brochures about the program at a grazing class. Hess was not hesitant about contacting and receiving assistance from AgrAbility once he learned about the program. After the initial contact with AgrAbility, Bruce Whitmore, Rural Rehabilitation Specialist with the Easter Seals Wisconsin FARM Program, visited the farm. Whitmore suggested that Hess contact the Division of Vocation Rehabilitation (DVR) for assistive technology funding.

Hess waited for about one year before DVR was able to implement the suggestions made by Whitmore.  Once put into service, DVR purchased several items for Hess, including a manure spreader. His old spreader would constantly freeze up due to the cold weather. The cold weather and labor it took to scrape and free the spreader overexerted Hess and would aggravate his asthma. During this process, Hess found it difficult to breath and could not complete the task. Hess no longer worries about spending the time and labor in the cold since the new manure spreader arrived.

Hess also obtained a Polaris Ranger, which allows him greater access to all locations of the farm. He is now able to bring the cows in from the back pasture with ease. Hess no longer has to carry the milking units between the parlor and the milk house because DVR purchased a clean-in-place (CIP) washing system for his milking units in the parlor. "The milkers were hard for me to carry all the time, [the CIP] was a real saver," Hess said. A crowd gate was installed in his barn. Now, with a push of a button, Hess is able to easily move the cows into the parlor—instead of climbing up onto a gate and pulling a rope. Through DVR funding, Hess’s tractors have also been outfitted with additional steps and new suspension seats to accommodate his arthritic back.

Hess’ goal is to increase his herd size from 100 to 150 cows. By making another modification to his operation, he is one more step closer to his goal. In December, Hess began purchasing feed through a custom operator, thereby reducing the fieldwork and manual labor that Hess had done in the past. Hess is pleased with the results of the changes made on his farm and appreciates the aid provided by AgrAbility of Wisconsin and DVR. He believes that he will be able to attain his goal of increasing his herd and now can farm far into the future.