Language in the care farming field is living and evolving. This glossary reflects CFN’s current thinking on shared terminology, informed by member experience, allied fields, and emerging research. It is intended as a practical resource, not a rigid rulebook. Individual care farms and communities may use different terms that carry important cultural, personal, or organizational meaning. CFN welcomes ongoing feedback as this language continues to evolve.
Care Farming Core Concepts
| Care Farming | Care farming is the use of therapeutic farming practices to promote health, well-being, and belonging. Care farms provide structured, intentional programs using land, plants, and animals to support social inclusion, skill development, and community connection. Care farms exist across a range of settings, including urban, suburban, rural, and homestead, and can take many forms, such as production farms, indoor growing systems, flower farms, mushroom growing operations, etc. |
| Green Care | An umbrella term for nature-based health and social interventions, including care farming, ecotherapy, wilderness therapy, therapeutic horticulture, animal-assisted interventions, and green exercise. |
| Farm-Based Education | Structured learning programs on working farms that use agriculture, nature, and food systems as teaching tools. |
| Nature Therapy | A broad set of interventions that use exposure to natural environments, outdoor settings, and the natural world to support mental, emotional, and physical well-being. Examples include forest bathing, wilderness therapy, ecotherapy, nature walks, and outdoor mindfulness practices. Nature therapy does not require a farm setting, agricultural activity, or structured production and can take place in forests, parks, gardens, or other natural spaces. Care farming is distinct in that it is rooted in a working farm context and intentionally incorporates farming tasks, animals, and food or plant production as part of its therapeutic and social model, not just exposure to nature. |
| Agritourism | Farms offering visitors entertainment, education, or events. Unlike care farming, agritourism does not center on a therapeutic or social inclusion mission. |
Farming Practices
| Vegetable Production | Growing vegetables, herbs, grains, and other food crops through field growing, raised beds, or container gardening. |
| Livestock / Animal Husbandry | Raising and caring for farm animals for eggs, dairy, meat, fiber production, and/or land stewardship. |
| Flower Farming | Cultivating cut flowers, dried flowers, or ornamental plants for sale or on-farm use. |
| Nursery / Greenhouse Production | Growing seedlings, houseplants, or landscaping plants, often in controlled environments that allow year-round production. |
| Orchard / Perennial Crops | Growing fruit trees, nut trees, or other long-term perennial crops. |
| Aquaponic Farming | A system combining fish production and hydroponic plant growing, where fish waste provides nutrients for plants. |
| Hydroponic Farming | Soil-free plant cultivation using nutrient-rich water systems. |
| Production Focused | Farms whose primary agricultural activity centers on growing or raising products for sale, donation, or use by their own community members, rather than on structured therapeutic or social programming. May include vegetables, flowers, livestock, or other farm products, sold at market, donated to local organizations, or used to feed program participants and staff. |
| Beekeeping | The keeping of honeybee colonies, either as a farm’s primary operation or as a supplemental practice alongside other farming activities, with the intention of producing honey and/or providing therapeutic services. |
| Value-Added Products | Farm products processed or transformed to increase value, such as jams, soaps, baked goods, dried herbs, or candles. |
Types of Programming & Services
| Employment | Participants are paid employees receiving wages, workplace accommodations, and ongoing support. |
| Job Skills Training | Vocational preparation and structured learning are provided. |
| Animal-Assisted Intervention (AAI) | Structured therapeutic or educational programs involving human-animal interaction. Includes: • Animal-Assisted Therapy (AAT): Clinical treatment led by licensed therapists. • Animal-Assisted Education (AAE): Learning facilitated by educators or trained staff. • Animal-Assisted Activities (AAA): Informal social or emotional support activities. • Equine-Assisted Services (EAS): Therapy or support involving horses. |
| Community & Arts | Farm-based programs centered on creative expression, cultural traditions, and community-building activities. Examples include visual art, music, storytelling, seasonal or cultural celebrations, cooking and food traditions, craft workshops, and community events hosted on the farm. |
| Licensed Therapy | Farm-based services provided by licensed mental health or medical professionals. |
| Therapeutic Horticulture | Therapeutic horticulture is the participation in horticultural activities facilitated by a registered horticultural therapist or other professionals with training in the use of horticulture as a therapeutic modality to support program goals. Therapeutic horticulture is the process through which participants enhance their well-being through active or passive involvement in plant and plant-related activities. |
Care Farm Models
| Residential Model/Lifesharing Community | Residential Model: Participants reside on-site in dedicated housing or facilities, typically with staff providing structured support and supervision. Lifesharing Community: Participants and caregivers share a home and daily life together, often as part of an intentional community built around mutual support rather than a staff-participant structure. |
| Employer Model | The farm hires participants as paid employees with workplace support. |
| Licensed Therapy Model | A model in which a licensed practitioner, such as a licensed social worker or licensed mental health professional, provides clinical treatment using the farm as the therapeutic setting. The therapy itself is clinically directed and delivered by a credentialed provider. Example: a licensed therapist leads individual or group counseling sessions in a farm setting, incorporating animals, gardens, or farm tasks into a clinical treatment plan. |
| Therapeutic Farm Model | A model in which the farm setting and farm-related tasks themselves provide the therapeutic value, without requiring a licensed practitioner to deliver the programming. Well-being outcomes come from structured engagement with the land, animals, and farm work, often blended with volunteerism, education, and community participation. Example: participants care for animals, tend gardens, or complete farm chores as part of a structured program led by farm staff, with therapeutic benefit coming from the activity and setting rather than clinical treatment. |
Organizational Structure
- Nonprofit organization
- For-Profit business
- Program of another organization/agency
- Two entities: Nonprofit and For-Profit
Populations Served
| Multiple Populations | If the farm intentionally serves a broad or diverse range of populations without a single primary focus. |
| People with Intellectual or Developmental Disabilities (I/DD) / Autism | Individuals with lifelong disabilities affecting learning, communication, or adaptive skills. |
| People Experiencing Mental Health Challenges | Individuals living with depression, anxiety, PTSD, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, or other mental health conditions. |
| People in Substance Use Recovery | Individuals navigating recovery from alcohol or drug dependency. |
| Veterans/First Responders | Individuals who have served in the military or in emergency response roles (such as police, fire, or emergency medical services) and may be navigating PTSD, traumatic brain injury, social isolation, or transition-related challenges. |
| Youth Facing Barriers | Young people navigating one or more significant challenges that affect their stability, development, or opportunities, including mental health conditions, homelessness or housing instability, substance use, disrupted education, foster care involvement, or involvement with the justice system. |
| People Impacted by the Justice System | Individuals currently or formerly involved with the criminal legal system. |
| Older Adults / Dementia Care | Older adults engaging in farm-based programming for general health, well-being, or social connection, as well as individuals living with Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia. |
| Immigrants and Refugees | Individuals and families navigating relocation, immigration, or refugee resettlement. |
| People Who Are Unhoused | Individuals experiencing homelessness or housing instability. |
| Individuals Living with Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) | Individuals experiencing cognitive, physical, emotional, or behavioral changes following a brain injury. |
Key Terminology Distinctions
Horticultural Therapy vs. Therapeutic Horticulture
| Horticultural Therapy: A credentialed clinical practice recognized by the American Horticultural Therapy Association. |
| Therapeutic Horticulture: Broader plant-based wellness programming that does not require clinical licensure. |
Neurodiversity Terminology
| Neurodiversity / Neurodiverse: The understanding that differences in thinking and cognition are natural variations in the human experience. Refers to groups, not individuals. |
| Neurodivergent: Describes individuals whose cognitive profile differs from neurotypical norms. |
| Neurotypical: Describes individuals with typical cognitive development and functioning. |
Allied Field Resources
The following organizations provide related terminology, standards, and guidance:
- American Horticultural Therapy Association (AHTA)
- International Association of Human-Animal Interaction Organizations (IAHAIO)
- Farm-Based Education Network (FBEN)
- Association of Nature and Forest Therapy (ANFT)
- American Psychological Association (APA)
- Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
- Association of People Supporting Employment First (APSE)