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