Veteran Rancher Never Loses Sight of Hope

Gail Claussen is a man of humor...and hope. He's also a life-long cattleman who is essentially blind.

Almost thirty years ago, he found out he had a hereditary condition that would make him loose his sight. That was macular degeneration, a condition in which the blood vessels in the retina leak, creating clots and ultimately causing blindness. It wasn't something that would happen all at once, but it was the end he could expect over the course of time.

Claussen, now 64, has been ranching since the age of 18, and his life depended on his continuing to do so. With 3,000 acres of land, 70 registered Angus cattle and 18 quarterhorses, not to mention a family to feed, this eastern El Paso County rancher had no option but to press on even as his eyesight failed.

"It was disconcerting to wake up knowing I was going blind," said Claussen. "I didn't deal with it too well back then. Now it's like I'm viewing life through a thick fog," he said.

At first he was able to get around daily tasks such as identifying cows ready for breeding by spray painting "X"s on their hind quarters, but when the markings were no longer visible to him, Claussen knew he needed a better method. It was at this point that he was introduced to AgrAbility.

AgrAbility is a partnership between Colorado State University Extension and Colorado Easter Seals, funded through the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The program provides information, services and education to agricultural families with members who are affected by physical limitations or a disability. Through AgrAbility, ranchers and farmers like Gail Claussen find effective ways to overcome and compensate for their disabilities and maintain their way of life.

"We provide AgrAbility workshops across Colorado," said Bob Fetsch, Extension human development specialist and coordinator of the workshops. "Our workshops are designed to give farmers and ranchers information and to help families understand the limitations and frustrations created by disabilities. We also give workshops for community professionals who work with farmers, ranchers or their family members affected by disabilities. Because of the nature of their work, farmers and ranchers with a disability face unique challenges.

"Farming and ranching rank up there with mining as the nation's most dangerous jobs," said Fetsch. In Colorado there are about 1,660 farm-related injuries annually, many of which result in permanent disabilities and about 20 in death. The leading cause of death in agricultural occupations is suicide, followed by accidents with large animals, then tractor turnovers, he said. These brushes with death and serious injury are often related to fatigue, long hours, harsh working conditions or high stress.

With help from the AgrAbility program, more and more rural residents with physical limitations are finding ways to stay in agriculture. The program does what it can to enable amputees, stroke and cancer victims, people with head or spinal cord injuries, and those with many other disabilities to accommodate their limitations and remain on their farm or ranch.

"We provide educational workshops, information and direct services to ag families to help them deal with stress and anger and other psychological problems, understand care-giving and relationships, and show them how adaptive equipment, assistive technology, workplace modifications and nuts-and-bolts techniques can help them keep the life they love," Fetsch said.

Claussen, with the help of his wife Karol, a seeing-eye-horse named Silk Shotgun, a great sense of humor, and AgrAbility, is able to tend his registered black Angus cattle and keep his ranch running smoothly. AgrAbility provides equipment that allows Claussen, who is legally blind but still retains some sight, to view and record important daily information such as weekly weight gain of his prize heifers. This is possible with the use of what Claussen refers to as his "reading machine." It is essentially a camera that focuses onto a writing plate and then magnifies and projects notes or objects that are placed on the plate onto a closed-circuit television screen so that Claussen can see them. The AgrAbility program also provided him with ZoomText software to modify his computer--by magnifying letters and numbers--which allows him to keep records, send e-mail and work on a book he is writing about his experiences.

"AgrAbility helped me figure out how to live with myself," Claussen said with a smile in his voice. After almost thirty years of dealing with the slow loss of his eyesight, Claussen maintains a positive attitude. He is full of the same spit-fire that his childhood stories contain. His gentle laugh, quick-witted sense of humor, and warm heart tell of a life full of meaning.

"I wouldn't be here, and I couldn't do what I do without my wife," he said. "Other people call me for advice on how to stay in agriculture and I tell them about AgrAbility, and how I'm a lucky man."

This man, this father, this husband, will continue his dream of ranching long after his sight is gone. -Jaime King & Wendy Douglass

For more information, contact your local Colorado State University Extension office.

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