Care Farming

What is Care Farming?

Care farming means the therapeutic use of farming practices. It's sometimes called social farming. 

Care farming sits amongst other nature-based therapies that are collectively called 'green care'. Green care means structured nature programmes for people with a defined need to benefit health, social care or education outcomes. Social Farms & Gardens is a founding member of the Green Care Coalition. The coalition represents green care providers in the UK and promotes green care as effective option for health and social care.  

People attend care farms for different reasons. It can be for health and social care, mental health and wellbeing, rehabilitation or a specialist education programme.

There are around 400 care farms of all shapes and sizes right across the UK providing care places. Care farms can look very different from each other and are as diverse as the people that they support. 

One thing all care farms have is common is providing a supervised, structured programme of farm-related activity for people with a defined need. Care is bespoke, person-centred and focused on the individual.

What is unique, is that care farming activity has a real purpose behind it. People are able to make a meaningful contribution to the running of a farm. This might be through animal care, growing crops and vegetables, horticulture or land management.

People who commission care services are increasingly recognising the benefits of care farming. 

Care farms: 

• Deliver health care, social care or specialist educational services for individuals from one or a range of vulnerable groups of people

• Provide a programme of farming-related activities for individuals with a defined need

• Provide supervised, structured, bespoke care services on a regular basis for service users

• Are commissioned to provide services by a range of referral agencies 

• Deliver services for adults, young people and children