About Imagine That Farm

Imagine That Farm connects mental health agencies and farms to create care farm therapy. We partner with professionals and organizations to integrate nature- and animal-assisted therapies into their work, providing expert guidance to launch care farms and foster meaningful collaborations.

Our trainings blend hands-on, nature-informed methods with clinical expertise, equipping practitioners to deliver deeply connected, life-changing care. Whether you’re building a new care farm or expanding an existing practice, we guide you every step of the way.

Learn more about Amy Grace, LMFT and Imagine that farm on their website.

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We shared how care farms are transforming what community care can look like and were joined by some of the leaders behind the movement.

Presenters Included:

Kate Mudge, Care Farming Network

Caroline Croft Estay & Johnny Fifles, Vertical Harvest Farms

Rachel Gillis, CapeAbilities

Watch the recording to hear more about how care farms work, what inspires care farmers, and what’s possible when farms are designed as deeply supportive, inclusive spaces.

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We’re thrilled to share that the Care Farming Network was recently featured on the ReImagination Café podcast in an episode that lifts up the growing movement of care farming across the country.

Hosted by Jessica Cherry, the episode brings together Kate Mudge, Co-Director of the Care Farming Network, and Woody Woodroof, founder of Red Wiggler Care Farm, for a conversation about how farms can promote health, well-being, and belonging—not just through what they grow, but through how they engage people.

From one Maryland farm to hundreds across the U.S., Kate and Woody share stories of how care farms heal, create purpose, and build community. They highlight the mutual benefits that flow to participants, staff, volunteers, and entire communities when farms are intentionally designed for inclusion and connection.

You’ll also hear from inspiring care farming leaders:

• Shawn Hayden (GAAMHA) on recovery programs that pair people in recovery with rescued farm animals.
• Lacey and Adam Ingrao (Bee Wise Farms) on mindfulness-infused beekeeping that supports veterans, invites honest dialogue, and nurtures resilience.
• Charley Schwartz (Red Wiggler) on creating farm-based spaces where people feel heard, seen, and that they belong.

Topics explored in this rich conversation include:

• What care farming is—and why it matters.
• The mutual benefits for participants, farmers, staff, volunteers, and communities.
• Red Wiggler’s model of meaningful employment for people with disabilities and community food access.
• How the Care Farming Network connects farms, shares resources, builds mentorship pathways, and strengthens this movement nationwide.
• Innovative care farm models serving people with disabilities, veterans, people in recovery, and other under-supported communities.

This episode beautifully captures the heart of care farming and the power of connection across our national network.

Listen on Apple Podcasts

Listen on Spotify

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Smile Farmers led a tour of their garden, offering tastings of nasturtium flowers, roselle, oregano, basil, and some of the season’s final cherry tomatoes. The garden’s herbs are dried and featured in a signature tea blend, while hot peppers are transformed into Smile Farms’ famous “Burn Ability” hot sauce.

Brianna guided the tour with her impressive expertise in edible flowers and herbs, even pointing out which weeds were safe to eat.

Andrew showed off the greenhouse and demonstrated how they creatively plant carrots and lettuce along the outer edges of the tomato beds, maximizing both the greenhouse and bed space.

Andrew summed up the visit by sharing some Burnability Hot Sauce and his slogan, that Smile farms garden is “where goodness burns bright.” We couldn’t agree more.

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This November, Andrea Barnhart, Co-Director of Care Farming Network (CFN) and Melissa McLearen, On-Farm Programs Director at Red Wiggler Care Farm were honored to present at Kennedy Krieger’s Neurodiversity at Work 2025 Tapping Into Talent: Innovation and Opportunity Conference. Their session, “Cultivating Workforce Inclusion: Advancing Care Farming in the United States,” spotlighted how care farming is transforming the landscape of inclusive employment across the country.

What Is Care Farming?

Care farming is an innovative approach that combines therapeutic and inclusive employment practices within working farms. By offering meaningful, hands-on work in agricultural settings, care farms create opportunities for people of all abilities—including individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), veterans, and others who often face barriers to employment.

Building a National Movement

The presentation highlighted how Care Farming Network is leading a national effort to strengthen and scale inclusive farming. Through collaboration, resource-sharing, and research, CFN is building the infrastructure needed to support care farms across the U.S.

Real-World Impact

Drawing from Red Wiggler Care Farm’s nearly three decades of experience in inclusive employment, Melissa shared practical strategies for recruitment, training, and retention that cultivate belonging, dignity, and purpose in agricultural workplaces.

Expanding Opportunities through Research and Mentorship

As part of its USDA SARE-funded project, CFN is deepening understanding of what makes inclusive employment thrive on farms. This initiative includes:

• Two research studies identifying best practices in inclusive farm employment.
• A regional network connecting care farmers across the Northeast.
• A mentorship program supporting aspiring care farmers as they start up new operations.

A Growing Vision for Workforce Inclusion

Together, CFN and Red Wiggler are showing how farms can be more than places that grow food—they can be powerful models for growing inclusion. By creating meaningful work opportunities in supportive, community-centered environments, care farms are advancing a more equitable and sustainable workforce for all.

Learn more about the 2025 Tapping Into Talent: Innovation and Opportunity Conference and the full agenda at Kennedy Krieger Institute’s website

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In late October, Care Farming Network’s Co-Director Kate Mudge traveled to Texas to experience firsthand the growth of care farming across the Lone Star State. From the tranquil pastures of Simple Sparrow Care Farm in Hutto to the conference sessions of the Farmer Veteran Coalition’s Stakeholders Conference in Waco, the trip offered a glimpse into how farms are pioneering a movement that uses therapeutic farming to promote health, well-being and belonging.

A Visit to Simple Sparrow Care Farm

Nestled just north of Austin, Simple Sparrow Care Farm provides trauma-informed therapeutic and educational services through farm nature. Founder and Executive Director Jamie Tanner welcomed Kate with her signature warmth and guided her through the farm’s story, from its early beginnings to its present day incarnation.

Simple Sparrow Care Farm began in 2013 when Jamie Tanner’s husband, Eric, bought her a small two-acre farm in Hutto, Texas. Having grown up with an incarcerated parent, Jamie found healing and safety in caring for land and animals—a gift she wanted to share with her own children and community. What started as hosting friends and family soon blossomed into outreach, as Jamie began bringing animals to schools and inviting therapists to use the farm for healing sessions. The response was overwhelming, and Simple Sparrow became a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in 2017. Today, the farm partners with licensed therapists and faith leaders to offer trauma-informed therapy, spiritual care, and training for professionals in holistic, farm-based healing. Jamie, who earned her Doctorate of Education in Ministry from Dallas Theological Seminary in 2025, continues to share her expertise through consulting and workshops that help others integrate trauma-informed care into schools, churches, healthcare, and beyond.

Partnering with therapists, educators, and community groups, the farm offers nature-based and animal-assisted sessions grounded in evidence-based approaches like Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI) and the Neuro-Sequential Model of Therapeutics (NMT). With a mission to make care farming accessible and replicable, Simple Sparrow trains others to integrate healing, education, and stewardship through the natural rhythms of farm life.

During the visit, Kate got a sneak peek at Jamie’s new book on trauma-informed care farming, now available on Amazon. Together they visited a menagerie of residents—geese, ducks, chickens, goats, sheep, a llama, dogs, rabbits, and cats—all living their best farm life. Kate also joined a community fundraising event, where participants created beautiful pumpkin-topped floral arrangements, blending art, nature, and connection in the spirit of care farming. And over a plate of legendary Texas barbecue at Rudy’s, the two shared in conversation about the future of care farming and the growing national movement to connect farms, health, and healing.

Learn more about Simple Sparrow at simplesparrow.farm.

Growing a National Partnership: Farmer Veteran Coalition Conference

From Hutto, Kate traveled west to Waco to attend the Farmer Veteran Coalition Stakeholders Conference-the largest national annual gathering of the agriculture and military communities. The three-day event brought together hundreds of veterans, farmers, and advocates for education, networking, and inspiration.

Kate joined a panel titled “From Service to Stewardship: Emerging Health and Wellness Models in Agriculture”, alongside Jeanette Lombardo (CEO, Farmer Veteran Coalition), Lynn Miller (Advocates for Human Potential, Inc.), and Matt Rudder (Project Victory Gardens and Rutter’s Ranch). The discussion highlighted the (new) FVC Care’s program, how care farming, therapeutic agriculture, and health-based farm programs are supporting veterans’ transitions to civilian life and improving mental health.

Throughout the conference, Kate learned from sessions on the Wellness Recovery Action Plan, legal aspects of farming, herbal wellness, and mushroom cultivation. The conference reinforced what we all know- that farming heals and that FVC’s work embodies the same spirit as care farming- empowering people to grow purpose, health, and connection through farming.

The visit also opened doors for deeper collaboration between Care Farming Network and Farmer Veteran Coalition, uniting two movements that share common values: service, stewardship, and community.

To learn more about the Farmer Veteran Coalition Conference, visit the event page.

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