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

Care farming uses agricultural practices to improve mental/ physical health and wellbeing, social skills and education.

There are many 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 in 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.