Charles “Bill” Morgan, 66, owns and operates a fourth-generation ranching operation in central Utah. The 800-acre operation includes over 125 head of Columbia sheep and 320 acres of alfalfa and additional acres of corn and barley. He uses all the corn and barley and approximately half of the alfalfa for feedstuffs. The remainder of the alfalfa is sold. His lamb crop last year was 175% (approximately 75% of the ewes had twins), with less than a 0.5% death loss. He attributes his success to his homemade colostrum supplement he gives lambs that do not take to the ewe.

Like his father and brothers, Bill graduated from Utah State University. He earned a degree from the School of Engineering and went on to become a high school drafting and industrial arts teacher in Bountiful, Utah for 13 years. Initially, he helped out on the home farm on weekends and during the summer. Bill and his wife, Helen, a registered nurse, relocated to the home farm in 1978. Five years ago, after 15 years of teaching in Juab, Utah, he retired and began ranching full-time.

In 1995, Bill was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). The type of MS Bill has is rare and progressive and has affected his leg strength and mobility. At this time, no medication is available to treat it.

Since Helen’s retirement, she has become more involved in the operation. She says, “I’m Bill’s legs…I help get tools for him, help with the irrigation system, and help him when he’s stuck in the field.” Whenever Bill is out on a tractor or four-wheeler, he and Helen use two-way radios to keep in contact. During lambing season, Bill employs a high school student and during the summer a hired man assists with fieldwork. Both of the Morgans’ daughters also pitch in on the weekends.

Bill currently uses crutches and a four-wheel drive Honda Foreman ES to get around his ranch. When Bill is in town, he uses an electric wheelchair. He has found that since MS has limited the strength and mobility of his legs, he has become more efficient, “Because I take fewer steps now, I make each step count!”

Before retiring in 1998, Helen was the Director of Nursing at the Central Valley Medical Center for 20 years. While working at the medical center, two of her colleagues attended a conference where they learned about the AgrAbility Project and told her about the program. Around the same time, Bill saw an article about the program in a newsletter from Utah State University. Together, these referrals prompted Bill to contact John Mussler at the AgrAbility of Utah Project in November 2001.

Prior to contacting AgrAbility of Utah, however, Bill had engineered a few ways to accommodate the physical changes resulting from the MS. For example, he designed and built a portable shooting bench for his pickup truck. The shooting bench fits in the bed of the truck and fits over the horse trailer receiver. It swivels 180° and has a bullet holder. He says this allows him to continue hunting elk and deer.

As a result of his consultations with AgrAbility of Utah staff, Bill has made a number of additional changes. One of the changes was to add hand controls on his tractor. Helen reports that the hand controls, “have been a big help for Bill.” In addition, they are currently investigating the addition of a tractor lift to make it easier for Bill to get in and out of the tractor. The plan is that Bill will provide the funds for the materials and the University staff will assist with the design and installation of the lift.

Bill has also fabricated a grain dispenser that fits on the back of his Honda Foreman ES and an attachment for the tractor to make feeding alfalfa to the animals easier. Neither of these items is commercially available, but Bill is willing to share his drawings. With his limited mobility, these modifications have allowed him to continue to feed his sheep without additional assistance. To irrigate the cropland, the operation was initially set up with irrigation ditches. Recently, however, Bill has added a sprinkler system on some of the land that has made it easier for him and Helen to manage the irrigation.

Bill’s opinion about the AgrAbility of Utah staff is, “They are excellent!! They bend over backwards for you.” And Bill’s advice to others in his position is, “You need to keep moving. You can’t let MS get the better of you, because if you do, it will.”

For more information about the fabricated grain dispenser and tractor feeding attachment contact AgrAbility of Utah.