article by Morgan Williams | photos courtesy of Cutting Fences

Kendra Lewis didn’t set out to run a nonprofit. Trained as an occupational therapist, her background was in healthcare, not organizational leadership. Today, she leads Cutting Fences Foundation, a nonprofit serving farmers, ranchers, and veterans in agriculture who are living with disabilities or chronic illnesses. The organization focuses on delivering innovative, client-centered programs designed to meet the specific needs of this underserved population.

Cutting Fences’ vision began to take shape while Lewis was in graduate school at Rocky Mountain College. At the time, her program was working to build connections with farmers and ranchers living with disabilities. Because Lewis had grown up on a farm and ranch, her professors asked her to give a presentation on the agricultural community. Having been away from that world for several years, she reached out to friends back home to ensure she was accurately representing their experiences.

What started as a research project quickly turned into something more. During those conversations, Lewis met three individuals who were actively farming and ranching from their wheelchairs. “Maybe it was divine intervention, because that was my ah-ha moment,” she recalls. That realization sparked the idea for Cutting Fences, and soon after, Lewis launched a podcast to share their stories and raise awareness about the challenges and resilience of people in agriculture living with disabilities.

If you listen to guests on her podcast, it’s clear that a disability for farmers and ranchers means separation not just from a job, but from a lifestyle. As Lewis interviewed guests, she quickly learned that insurance's refusal to pay for adaptive equipment was a major barrier for people.

In 2023, with the help of generous donors, Cutting Fences purchased one piece of adaptive equipment, and the Loan Closet was born. The concept was simple - get adaptive equipment into the hands of people who need it, at no cost to them. The Loan Closet has grown steadily, and they currently have seven pieces of adaptive equipment - all of which are currently on loan.

Adaptive equipment like Action Trackstanders, tracked power wheelchairs, and Terrain Hoppers have done more than help Montanans return to the work they love - it’s given them hope. Many people didn’t even know equipment like this existed, and if they did, they knew they couldn’t afford it. One piece of adaptive equipment can cost between $20,000 and $30,000, a steep investment, especially for a machine you’ve never tried.

Conversations about accessibility typically center on changing the environment, and while accessible trails and ramps are helpful and necessary, they do restrict a person to those areas. Adaptive equipment tears down this barrier by allowing people with disabilities to go where everyone else goes - like on father/ son hunting trips or through the corn maze with their family. One gentleman in North Central Montana found the chair allowed him to get out and spray weeds and catch his horse - and a key feature on the Trackchair allowed him stand up as he and his wife renewed their wedding vows. He reflected, “Being able to stand up again was one of the feelings I have never had...I never cried much, but that made me cry.

The loans are generally for a minimum of three months, and can be much longer. If the equipment works for the individual, Cutting Fences then helps to identify funding opportunities for people to purchase equipment.

Looking ahead, Cutting Fences is expanding its Quality of Life Fund, which has already helped individuals acquire used wheelchairs and scooters. The long-term goal is to fund the full purchase of adaptive equipment, giving people not just access, but ownership.

According to founder Lewis, the most powerful way to help is simple: spread the word. “Awareness is everything,” she says. “Whether it’s connecting someone in need or just sharing what we do, it can change a life.”

More information about equipment loans and ways to be involved can be found at https://www.cuttingfencesfoundation.net

Originally printed in the December 2025 issue of Simply Local Magazine

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