Horse-drawn buggies or wagons and other animal-drawn carriages have been used by the Plain Communities as the primary means of transportation for generations. Equestrian sports and tourism business enterprises have also increased the number of horse-drawn carriages on streets and highways.

The goal of this publication is to introduce readers to the Assistive Technologies (ATs) used in agriculture and to the steps involved in the design of a successful AT system. This publication also discusses both common and operation-specific AT systems used in agriculture and how they influence secondary injuries, and it provides lists of agencies and resources that can help farmers and ranchers with the implementation of ATs.

Machines; no farm or ranch can function without them. They save valuable time and are essential to agricultural productivity. They also represent an ever-present danger to the people who operate them. There are a host of hazards that makes agricultural machinery the leading cause of injury and death on American farms and ranches.

Hay production and feeding is one of the most expensive components of forage-livestock systems. Specific management practices are necessary to maintain hay quality and minimize hay loss during harvest, transportation and storage of large round bales.

Grape acreage and production have been steadily increasing in the US. In 2010 there were approximately 23,000 farms with a total of 944,800 acres producing grapes. Ninety percent of these farms are smaller than 100 acres and about 16,000 of these were vineyards. California accounts for about 90% of the total production in the US. The next two largest grape producing states are Washington and New York and they produce approximately 6% and 2% respectively (NASS-USDA, 2014)