January 2025, our Cape Abilities Farm team traveled to Western Massachusetts to attend the inaugural Care Farming Network National Conference at UMass Amherst. This exciting event brought together care farms from across the country to learn, share, and grow together.
What is Care Farming?
Care farming serves a diverse range of individuals by offering therapeutic interventions, social support, skill development, and engagement with nature and agriculture. These programs take place on working farms, utilizing resources like plants, animals, and outdoor spaces to foster inclusion, job training, and healing. Though care farming has deep roots in Europe, it has been gaining momentum in the U.S.—and Cape Abilities Farm is proud to be a part of this movement!
A Three-Day Journey of Learning and Leadership
Over the course of three days, our team immersed themselves in farmer-to-farmer learning, inspiring keynote sessions, hands-on workshops, and engaging panel discussions.
Day 1: We kicked off the conference with a visit to Prospect Meadow Farm in East Hatfield, MA. This incredible farm tour provided valuable insights, networking opportunities, and a moving presentation, ending with an uplifting performance by the Friendship Band.
Day 2: A particularly proud moment for Cape Abilities Farm— our very own Farm Director, Rachel Gillis, gave a keynote speech and led a panel in a breakout session featuring Austin Slesinski, Cape Abilities’ Head Grower and Mark Bartley, Operations Manager, sharing our expertise with care farmers from across the country.
Day 3: The conference wrapped up with more dynamic discussions, connections, and fresh ideas to bring back to our farm.
Key Take Aways
One of our biggest realizations? We are pioneers in the care farming movement! With farms from 28 states and even Canada in attendance, we quickly learned that Cape Abilities Farm stands out as:
- One of only two hydroponic farms at the conference
- A model for other care farms looking to grow and expand
We also connected with inspiring care farms like Plant For Change Seeds and Smile Farms Hot Sauce! The conference reinforced that care farming is for everyone—farming itself is therapeutic, and the work we do at Cape Abilities Farm is making a real difference in our community and beyond.
Energized for the Future
The conference left our team excited, inspired, and motivated to keep innovating. Our Cape Abilities Farm Team came home with:
- New ideas for potential vendors and products to carry in our Farm Market
- Fresh opportunities for new roles and training at the Farm
- A renewed passion for expanding the impact of care farming
We are so grateful to have been part of this historic event, and we can’t wait to see how care farming continues to grow in the years ahead!
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