On November 19th, Care Farming Network and seven mentees and mentors celebrated their completion of the CFN Mentorship Program. In its inaugural year, the program provided beginning care farmers the opportunity to enhance their business and farming practices while increasing employment opportunities for individuals with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities (I/DD) on care farms. Supported by a Northeast SARE grant, the 2025 program served care farmers in the Northeast US.

The Mentorship Year

The Mentorship Program kicked off in January at the first annual Care Farming Network National Conference. Mentees connected with their mentors in person while while building community with care farmers nationwide (and beyond!)

Mentors and beginning farmers were matched based on farm type, learning goals, and location. Over ten months, they visited each other’s farms and met for virtual consultations and check-ins.

From February through November, the mentee cohort met monthly to ask questions, share successes and challenges, and learn from one another’s experiences. The CFN team was present to guide the conversation and provide resources.

Grant Writing Project

In the fall, CFN provided a grant writing workshop for mentees, sharing best practices for creating a compelling and fundable grant proposal.  Using an application created by CFN, mentees wrote grant proposals and budgets for a project at their care farm. 

Mentees reviewed one another’s grants and met to share feedback. Mentees were awarded a $1000 mini-grant for their efforts, which included $250 travel reimbursement for their mentor farm visit.

In thanks for their participation and mentee support, mentors were also awarded $1,000.

CFN’s Takeaways

We’re grateful for the invaluable feedback shared by mentees and mentors in program evaluations. We learned:

• Overall, mentees found the guidance from experienced care farmers invaluable. One-on-one mentorship helped mentees gain clarity, focus, and confidence.
• The peer cohort created a sense of community, encouragement, and shared purpose among beginning care farmers.
• The grant-writing support helped mentees strengthen their proposals and feel more prepared to pursue additional funding.

Suggestions to Improve the Program:

• More structure for mentor meetings, such as themes or guiding questions, would be beneficial.
• A longer mentee introductory period to cover basic concepts could lead to more focused, high-quality conversations with mentors.

On October 25th, Sarah Sorci of Care Farming Network met with Aeryn Boyd at her land in Western New York State. Aeryn is an aspiring care farmer and participant in CFN’s 2025 Mentorship Program.  Koi, an experienced urban farmer with a background in social work, joined us to tour the space, discuss ideas for the property (Aerry Berry Farm), and brainstorm local contacts that might be useful in pursuing Aeryn’s goals.

Aeryn purchased the 2.5-acre property two years ago. Nestled in the Allegany foothills, the property includes two homes and several sheds. Aeryn has been fixing up the home closest to the road. The home set back in the woods (the “treehouse”) is fully off-grid, employing solar panels and a generator. Aeryn imagines using this space for programming.

A 50′ x 65′ cleared, flat area by the road was previously used for gardening. Aeryn noted that this would be an easy place to begin cultivation. Most of the remaining property is deciduous woodland with an array of native species.

Together, we brainstormed care farming project ideas that would be a good fit for the space. Examples include growing mushrooms to make use of shady space with low input; foraging walks; microgreens that capitalize on free solar electricity; and chickens.

In the woods, Aeryn is interested in building a yurt and/or providing camping space for people who visit the property. She dreams of welcoming apprentices to develop gardening and marketing skills.

As a relatively close neighbor to the property, Sarah shared local contacts and organizations that could form mutually beneficial relationships with Aerry Berry Farm.

CFN’s Takeaways

Like many other aspiring care farmers, Aerry Berry Farm is looking for funding, volunteers, and skilled carpentry support. Across the country, there is a shortage of skilled contractors. Construction projects are often vital for new farm operations, creating a need in the care farming community.

We discussed the possibility of inviting a caretaker to manage Aeryn’s land. While community groups that offer piecemeal volunteer hours can be very helpful, we reflected on the value of having one great employee who knows the farm intimately, brings expertise, and requires less supervision.

We’re wishing Aeryn a joyful start to Aerry Berry Farm!