Farming with an Upper Limb Prosthesis

Our Arm Dynamics centers have fit many patients who earn their living as farmers, some of whom experienced their amputation while working on their farm. While these types of injuries may make life as a farmer seem almost impossible, our patients have shown that, with the right tools and support, they can continue to work.

John (pictured above), a patient at our center in Minneapolis, MN, not only works with his brother on their 500-acre farm with about 130 head of cattle, but he also works in construction. In 2022, John was using a pull-type forage harvester, or chopper, for his corn. John was walking up to the forage harvester when he tripped, and his right arm and left foot were pulled into the blades, removing his arm above the elbow and seriously injuring his foot.

“When I got home from the hospital, the little bit of work I could do made me feel good. As time went on, things got better and better.” Our center fit John with two interchangeable body-powered hooks and a heavy-duty body-powered elbow with lift assist, also known as a "power bow." “Once I got home with my device, I was very excited to use it. But then, here comes the frustration — which, my occupational therapist had warned me multiple times about this, that I was going to get frustrated. I’m glad that I did tough through the frustrating days, because to me it’s worth it. I’m still taking the time to get used to this and figure out different ways to do stuff.” While one of John’s hooks, the 5Xti, can be used for many of his tasks, when he drives his tractor, he finds his 7LO work hook, pictured below, better for handling the levers.