Meet Mark Matthews

“You can’t understand how much that crowding tub has helped us. We can’t express how thankful we are for the help AgrAbility has given us.” —Dierdra Matthews, Mark’s wife

Mark is a beef farmer and Iraq war veteran who has benefited from assistive technology on his farm south of Lansing. With PTSD, traumatic brain injury, ankle and back injuries, it was almost impossible for Mark to herd and sort cattle and complete the necessary veterinary work. He had trouble moving quickly which put him in serious danger of being pushed by the cattle. The only solution was to have his wife do the dangerous hard work while Mark watched. When the veterinarian cam to do herd health work, he charged by the hour which was an expense that was difficult to cover. Because Mark could not help move the cattle, the process of sorting and restraining the animals was very slow and became very expensive.

With AgrAbility’s assistance, Mark purchased a crowding tub and swing gate that made him able to move cattle into the headlock from the safe side of the gate. How he can manage the cattle safely and vastly reduces the veterinary bills. His wife, Dierdra, is no longer in dangerous situations caused by moving the cattle, and Mark is able to resume the primary role of managing the cattle on the farm.