Join care farmers, practitioners, researchers, and allies from across the country for three days of learning, connection, and community at the 2027 Care Farming Network National Conference, January 28-30 in Raleigh/Durham, North Carolina.
This Is Care Farming.
It’s a flower farm started by a mother and her son with autism. It’s a therapeutic community where adults living with mental illness build health and purpose. It’s an apiary where veterans and first responders learn beekeeping, find calm among the hives, and find community and connection.
Over the past five years, CFN’s network has grown from 13 care farms to more than 400. Each farm is unique, and every one belongs here. For three days, let’s share what we’re growing and shape what’s next for the care farming movement.
Not Your Ordinary Conference
Tour local care farms, dig into breakout sessions with peers from across the country, kick things off at the welcome reception, and cheer on the runway at the farmer fashion show. Get an early look at the Agenda at a Glance!
Make the Conference Hotel Your Home Base
Stay at the Sheraton Imperial Raleigh-Durham Airport and be right in the middle of the conference. Enjoy a discounted rate of $159 a night and a free airport shuttle, no rental car needed. Staying on-site means morning coffee, evening conversations, and the spontaneous connections that make the conference so memorable. Book by January 4th.
Conference Details
Registration and Scholarships
We want everyone to be able to attend regardless of financial means, and tiered registration helps make that happen. Hosting each attendee costs approximately $500, including $315 for meals. Choose the tier that fits your budget. Every tier gets the same full conference experience.
Cultivate: $545 (after Dec. 4: $595). Covers your registration and helps another care farmer attend
Grower: $445 (after Dec. 4: $495). Our standard registration rate.
Sprout: $295 (after Dec. 4: $345). Substantially subsidized to lower the cost of attending.
Single day registrations are available.
Early Bird closes December 4, 2026. Final registration closes January 20, 2027.
Scholarships
CFN is committed to reducing barriers to participation by offering need-based scholarships as funds allow. Priority is given to applicants who are currently working on a care farm, people with autism and intellectual/developmental disabilities, people with lived experience directly connected to care farming, and conference presenters. That said, all who need support are encouraged to apply.
Scholarships are awarded on a rolling basis, so we encourage you to apply as soon as possible.
Key dates:
- November 3: Scholarship application deadline for presenters
- November 18: General scholarship application deadline
- November 27: All applicants will be notified of their status
Agenda-at-a-Glance
Agenda at a Glance: Check out the conference schedule with this at-a-glance view, including breakout session titles and key events.
Local Farm Tour Schedule
Care Farm Tours: Experience Care Farming in Action
Get an up-close look at care farming through an immersive farm tour experience. These small-group tours offer a behind-the-scenes look at how care farms operate, the programs they provide, and the communities they support.
With each farm, hear directly from the people who built and sustain the work. Learn about their vision, structure, programs, and the realities of growing and sustaining a care farm. Walk the fields, explore program spaces, see tools and systems in action, and discover the day-to-day operations that bring each farm’s mission to life.
Whenever possible, tours will be co-led by people with lived experience who can share firsthand how care farming has impacted their lives.
Tour Schedule: Thursday, January 28th
Choose one of four unique farm tour experiences when you register for the conference:
DEPARTURE TIME | FARM TOUR EXPERIENCE |
| 1:00 PM | SEAWIND Farm: A growing care farm that raises vegetables, fruits, herbs, botanicals, and chickens and turkeys for eggs, providing programs for adults with intellectual/developmental disabilities. Eventually a small intentional community of folks will life-share interdependently. |
| 1:30 PM | Blawesome: A production flower farm creating a sustainable business through the sale of locally grown flowers. Founded by Rebecca and her son Raimee, who has a diagnosis of autism, Blawesome demonstrates how a farm-based business can create meaningful employment, build skills, and foster belonging. |
| 2:00 PM | Farm at Penny Lane: A public-private partnership between XDS Inc. and UNC’s Center for Excellence in Community Mental Health, The Farm at Penny Lane is a therapeutic community where adults living with serious mental illness—and youth at risk for serious mental health challenges—build health, purpose, connection, and skills through farming, food, nature, and meaningful activity. Together, they are creating a continuum from recovery to prevention. |
| 2:30 PM | Peacehaven “Bus-less” Farm Tour: Hosted at the conference venue, with no bus required. Join Peacehaven’s team for a “tour” of the community growing on their 89-acre farm (and beyond). Hear how lessons learned on their first eight acres are guiding a new model for people of all abilities to live, learn, work, and play together. The tour will share progress on the state-of-the-art Community Center now under construction and look ahead to expanded farm programming, Meg’s House for adult respite, and a health clinic. You’ll also hear the vision for a truly integrated neighborhood for 225+ people of all abilities. Peacehaven is building a bigger table, with a seat for everyone. |
Complimentary bus transportation is provided for all three on-farm tours (the Peacehaven tour is held at the conference venue).
Bus space is limited to 50 per tour, so be sure to register early for your preferred tour.
Venue + Hotel
The conference will be held at the Sheraton Imperial Raleigh-Durham Airport. Attendees receive a discounted rate of $159/night and a free airport shuttle. The hotel also offers a walking trail, a large gym, nearby restaurants, and a free shuttle to locations within 4.5 miles, running twice an hour.
Book by January 4th, 2027 to access the discounted rate.
Looking to arrange a room share or ride share to cut costs? Email Sarah for assistance.
Travel Information: Air, Train, Bus, Public Transit
🏨 Conference & Hotel Address:
Sheraton Imperial Raleigh-Durham Airport
4700 Emperor Blvd Durham, NC 27703
Raleigh-Durham International Airport is a 7-minute drive from our conference venue, the Sheraton Imperial Raleigh-Durham Airport.
The Sheraton Imperial offers a free airport shuttle for hotel guests.
- Arrival: Call the hotel when your flight lands, and they’ll pick you up at a designated airport shuttle zone.
- Departure: Visit the hotel front desk during your stay to inquire about your return shuttle to the airport.
The nearest Greyhound stop is the downtown Durham station. Plan your trip on the Greyhound website.
GoTriangle Route 705 takes you from the Greyhound station to the conference venue (Sheraton Imperial Raleigh-Durham Airport). See the “Local Public Transit” section below.
Flixbus offers national bus routes to Durham and Raleigh. Plan your trip on the Flixbus website.
Amtrak makes stops in Durham and Raleigh on its national routes. Plan your Amtrak trip here.
To get around Raleigh, Durham, or Chapel Hill without a car, GoTriangle is the regional public bus service. There is a bus stop in front of the Sheraton Imperial. Explore bus routes and schedules on the GoTriangle website.
- Fares are $2.50, with a $5 daily cap.
- All riders must use the UMO app to ride. No smart phone? Get your physical Umo card and set up an account at the Regional Transit Center–it’s right across the street from the Sheraton Imperial!
- A 50% fare discount is available for people with disabilities; seniors over age 65 ride free. Fill out a simple form to obtain your discount.
Conference Add-On: NC Botanical Garden Therapeutic Horticulture Tour
Tour the North Carolina Botanical Garden with Garden staff during this optional pre-conference event. Choose from the following options:
- Explore the Garden through a therapeutic horticulture lens with Sarah Tanke, Therapeutic Horticulture Program Manager
- Enjoy a landscape-oriented tour, focusing on the native plants cultivated by the Garden team
Event Schedule:
9:00 AM – Welcome and introductions
9:15–10:30 AM – Tour the garden
10:30–11:00 AM – Q&A and wrap-up discussion
Register by January 20th.
Sponsor & Exhibitor Opportunities
Does your organization have something to share with the care farming community?
Your table gets Thursday afternoon through Saturday morning of direct engagement with attendees, placed in high-traffic areas for visibility. You’ll receive one 6-foot table, two chairs, and a tablecloth. Electrical outlets available on request.
Exhibitor Rates:
- Non-profit: $570 ($125 exhibitor fee + one registration)
- Commercial: $745 ($300 exhibitor fee + one registration)
- Care farm: $100 exhibitor fee + one registration (any level)
Email Sarah to become an exhibitor or with questions.
Become a Sponsor
Sponsorship funds scholarships and event access for care farmers across the country, and puts your organization in front of the largest national gathering of care farmers, practitioners, and advocates in the U.S.
Care farms, this one’s for you: care farms that sponsor receive double the complimentary registrations at every level, so you can bring more of your team.
Care Farm Showcase
Care farmers, bring a table display that tells your farm’s story: who you serve, the programs you offer, and the difference your farm makes in your community. Photos, posters, artwork, handcrafted signs, and brochures are all welcome, and hosting a display is complimentary with registration. Then take time to explore. Whether you’re hosting a table or just browsing, stroll the showcase to see the people, places, and programs behind care farms from across the country.
Learn more about sharing a display in this information sheet.
Care Farmer Fashion Show
Join us Friday evening for the Care Farmer Fashion Show! Whether you step onto the runway or cheer from the audience, this is a chance to celebrate farm style in all its forms.
Walk the runway in your favorite flannel, hat, trusty overalls, bandana, “most well-loved” (old!) items, and/or a little miscellaneous flair. Don’t forget to pack your fashion show outfit!
Participation is optional but encouraged, and yes—prizes will be awarded!
Get a taste of the fashion show with this short highlight video from the 2026 conference.
Accessibility and Terms and Conditions
Accessibility
The Care Farming Network National Conference aims to center people with lived experience who work and volunteer on care farms. We seek not only to make this conference accessible to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD), but also to amplify the voices, perspectives, and expertise of care farm participants with disabilities and other lived experience.
The Sheraton Imperial Raleigh-Durham Airport provides:
- Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) approved rooms (first come, first served) and elevators
- Book an ADA-approved room by calling the hotel: (919) 941-5050. Let them know you’re attending the Care Farming Network Conference so they can apply our discounted rate!
- All conference events are on the first floor
- Wheelchair-accessible bathrooms in conference wing
- A Quiet Room for sensory breaks
- Service animals are welcome
If you need accommodations to participate fully in the conference, please let us know in your registration form or email Sarah.
Cancellation Policy
- All cancellations must be requested in writing by sending an email to Sarah.
- There is a $75 cancellation fee if cancellation is requested by December 23, 2026
- There is a 50% cancellation fee if cancellation is requested from December 24, 2026—January 10, 2027
- After January 10, 2027, we will only provide a 100% refund for cancellations for health-related or other emergencies, at the discretion of Care Farming Network. Refunds are not otherwise available if cancellation is requested after January 10, 2027.
Sarah, CFN’s conference organizer, is happy to answer questions! She can also help you:
- Sign up as a paid Exhibitor
- Arrange a ride share or hotel room share
- Decide which farm tour works best for your accessibility needs