By Kerry Halladay

A growing program in New Mexico is helping connect adults with disabilities to farming.

On July 16, the USDA-funded AgrAbility program hosted the first of its National Training Workshop Encore Webinars for 2025. The event featured Sophie Trusty, program director at Mandy’s Farm. She spoke about the farm’s Adaptive Apprenticeship Program, which helps adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities learn farming skills and find agricultural job placement within the community in the Albuquerque area.

“AgrAbility is a USDA-sponsored program that assists farmers and ranchers and other agricultural workers with disabilities,” says Tess McKeel of Goodwill of the Finger Lake Team, an AgrAbility partner, who emceed the webinar. She explains that the national program partners with land grand universities that offer disability services organizations and that there are currently 21 state projects.

Mandy’s Farm is one of those state projects.

“Mandy’s Farm is the nonprofit partner in the New Mexico AgrAbility project,” Trusty says. She explained that the farm started in 2000 as a way to provide supportive residential living services initially to women with autism, but has since expanded to serve other people within the community.

“We had had this agricultural site for many years and started hearing more and more community need and interest and interest around agricultural programs and how that intersects for folks with disabilities towards employments,” Trusty continues. “That led us to being approached to be the nonprofit partner in the New Mexico AgrAbility project.”

About the Adaptive Apprenticeship Program

The Adaptive Apprenticeship Program started its first full-time apprenticeship cohort in February of 2023 with nine participants. It is a two-year program consisting of 1,800 hours of classroom instruction and field work. The program is facilitated by a pair of program managers who oversee daily operations and the curriculum, as well as program assistants who work directly with the apprentices.

Occupational therapy students from the University of New Mexico also partner with Mandy’s Farm, providing additional support to apprentices.

“The occupational therapy field work students completing their practicum have the option to choose Mandy’s Farm’s AgrAbility Apprenticeship program as their field work placement, so we are often very lucky to have those OT students working with us for part of the program,” Trusty says.

She explains that the first year of the program generally covers ag basics and classroom time, while the second year focuses on apprentices working off-site at nearby community farms and planning and working on their personal plots at Mandy’s Farm.

Trusty reports the current crops at the farm include beans, cabbage, collard greens, corn, herbs, melons, okra, peppers, squash, sweetpotatoes and tomatoes, with the tomatoes and peppers being particular favorites last year. In addition to their personal plots, the apprentices have a lot of input in what gets grown at Mandy’s Farm. She says this year the farm has a few experimental rows of garbanzo beans and quinoa, for instance.

“We like the apprentices to have a lot of input on what will be grown because that’s way more fun and they are able to get a wide variety of knowledge on different crops,” Trusty says. “A lot of the small farms in Albuquerque are very diversified, mixed vegetable production. So, hopefully that gives them some experience that would be helpful at other farms.”

Apprentices receive a $600 monthly stipend funded through the state’s division of vocational rehabilitation for all of their work during their apprenticeship. This is a very important detail, Trusty says.

“We have a strong value at Mandy’s Farm around paid work for folks with disabilities and intellectual disabilities, and we focus on transitioning our students out of the program and into community integrated employment,” she says.

That focus shows up in the final months of the apprenticeship, Trusty adds.

“For the last several months of the program before they graduate, [apprentices] receive intensive job development support,” she says. “That is a classification of supported employment where we support them with getting placed in a community employment setting at the end of their apprenticeship.”

Past apprentices and the current cohort

Seven members of the first cohort of apprentices graduated the program in December of 2024. Trusty says several of that cohort are in agricultural or ag-adjacent jobs.

“We have someone working at a greenhouse, we have someone working doing landscaping for a local hotel, and we have two folks at a compost facility,” Trusty says. She adds that Alejandro, who works as the hotel landscaper, “has just been loving his job.”

“He’s been so successful,” she says. “It’s just been really incredible to see our graduates in their new jobs and how happy and successful they are.”

There are six apprentices in the current cohort that started earlier this year. Trusty reports that, while the current cohort is still new and trying to figure out their unique interests, there is a developing trend so far: Cooking and value-added foods.

“For example, I know today they are making garlic scape pesto and we’re going to package it and sell it at the farmers market this Saturday,” she said during the July 16 webinar. “We also just harvested a bunch of apples and are creating apple butter tomorrow and dehydrated apple slices.”

Trusty says the program tries to lean into the different cohort interests and pursue connections in the community that can support learning. She says they are looking into collaboration with a local program called the Three Sisters Kitchen that does a food business training program.

“We’re in early conversations about whether some of our folks might want to do some of their time next year at the food training program and trying to align their own personal plots at the farm, growing some things for product and selling those and helping them get a business started,” Trusty says.

The challenges of now and hopes for the future

Trusty also talked about the various challenges at Mandy’s Farm. Most of these — funding, good relations with neighbors and the county, soil quality problems — are common to any farming operation. But a unique challenge is the continuing stigma around disabled people broadly, and those with intellectual and developmental disabilities specifically.

“There’s a lot of stigma about farming as a career too, and sometimes when those things converge, there’s even more misconceptions,” she explains. “Sometimes we hear ‘can they do that work? Are they able to be farmers?’ or ‘is that appropriate?’ and that kind of thing. I hope that our apprentices are helping to change that narrative. Yes, they can, and they are wonderful farmers. Anyone would be lucky to have them.”

She adds that she hopes those in the wider agricultural community are open minded and will be willing to listen to people with disabilities.

“If someone is saying ‘this is what I want to do, this is what I’m interested in,’ believe that,” she says, urging people not to have preconceived notions on what someone is able to do. “Creating that next generation of farmers is so critical, so being creative about how we do that and providing some more supports to folks who are interested in that is really important.”

When it comes to the future, Trusty says the goals for the AgrAbility Apprenticeship Program are to be able to increase community involvement and interactions. Mandy’s Farm envision doing so through offering community workshops on agricultural practices, hosting school groups for educational visits and other offerings such as free community farm dinners.

Through these efforts, Mandy’s Farm hopes to increase social capital and feelings of connection and inclusion for their program participants. This will also give more opportunities for the apprentices to “showcase their knowledge and skills which decreases stigma and myths about individuals with disabilities,” Trusty says.

“I just wanted to emphasize how incredible and capable our apprentices are and what a meaningful experience it has been to be part of their growth,” she says. “Our apprentices graduate with agricultural skills, but they also grow in confidence, develop their ability to advocate for their needs, learn how to work on a team and resolve conflict, and develop lasting connections.”

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The vision of AgrAbility is to enhance the quality of life for farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural workers with disabilities, and they work to support farmers and ranchers by providing resources, training, and assistive technology. With 21 state-based AgrAbility Projects (SRAPs) across 22 states, AgrAbility is a U.S. Department of Agriculture program to assist farmers, food growers, and farm families who are touched by a disability, chronic health problem, or just getting older, which affects their ability to take part in an agricultural lifestyle.

The workshop provided a wealth of valuable knowledge, primarily focused on supporting farmers with physical disabilities, though the discussions highlighted areas that could benefit from further innovation. We connected with AgrAbility conference organizers, who had attended Care Farming Network’s National Conference in January 2025, and we’re excited about continuing our collaboration, as both organizations work to empower individuals with diverse abilities.

Accessibility Resources for Farmers with Disabilities

At the heart of the breakout sessions were a series discussions, including a look at adaptive farming equipment, accessible tools, and strategies for including youth with disabilities in agricultural education programs. Some of the key topics we heard about include:

Laura Akgerman from Ohio AgrAbility shared a wealth of resources to assist with farm accessibility during events. The session highlighted the importance of proactive planning, ensuring that marketing and registration materials are accessible for individuals with various disabilities. A simple but powerful recommendation was to include a statement on your website inviting accommodation requests, helping make events more inclusive. Ohio AgrAbility also offers helpful tools like an accessibility checklist to ensure farms can assess and address any barriers to participation on their farms.

Inclusive Agricultural Education for Youth

Vanessa Sperro, from Florida AbrAbility, presented research on youth inclusion for those with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Her findings show that inclusion in agricultural activities has immense benefits for both neurodivergent youth and their neurotypical peers. Through mentoring and peer teaching models, adolescents gain valuable life skills, while fostering greater tolerance and reducing bias. The research highlights a crucial gap in agricultural education, with a call for extension agents to attend disability and transition fairs, raising awareness of career opportunities in agriculture for students with disabilities.

Vocational Rehabilitation and Work Support

AgrAbility’s partnerships with vocational rehabilitation offices (VR) were also a major focus, showcasing how these offices provide pre-employment training, job placement, on-the-job training, and assistive technology to farmers with disabilities.

The Importance of Mental Health in Farming

In addition to the practical aspects of farming, sessions also included the well-being of farmers. One standout presentation was from the “Heroes to Hives” program, which uses beekeeping as a form of therapy for veterans. Studies show that beekeeping can improve mental health, providing a calming, therapeutic experience for individuals facing emotional challenges.

Mandy’s Farm Presentation was a highlight!

One of the standout presentations was from, Mandy’s Farm, care farm located just south of Albuquerque. They work to empower individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities to create fulfilling lives through supportive and accessible housing, meaningful employment, and valued community connections. Through a federally-funded partnership with New Mexico State University, the New Mexico Technology Assistance Program, and the University of New Mexico, Mandy’s Farm offers programming designed specifically for people with disabilities who wish to access education and vocational support designed to cultivate a career in farming. They do this by offering a two-year program for apprentices, designed to prepare them to work on an existing farm or start a micro-business of their own. Apprentices obtain hands-on and classroom-based training in growing vegetables, cultivating fruit, caring for small livestock, and more. Following the completion of their apprenticeship, disabled farmers have the opportunity to incubate their own farming business within Mandy’s Farm.

Building a Future Together

The CFN team came away from the AgrAbility National Training Workshop with optimism and plenty of new connections. We look forward to deepening our connection with AgrAbility to further the mission of care farming, and as we continue to build these bridges, we encourage other care farms, disability advocates, and agriculture professionals to join us in creating a more accessible and supportive agricultural community. We also encourage you to explore whether your state has an AgrAbility chapter… connect with them if so and learn how you might work together!

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