Virginia Agricultural Programs Help Vulnerable Youth and Adults Build Life Skills

Two Virginia farming operations are using agricultural work as therapy and skill-building for young men from troubled backgrounds and adults with developmental disabilities. The programs combine daily farm tasks with personal development, helping participants gain confidence and independence.

WEST AUGUSTA—Throughout Virginia, agricultural operations are growing more than just produce and raising animals. These specialized farms are fostering self-assurance, promoting self-reliance, and developing capabilities that enable people to succeed—all through routine agricultural activities.

This approach, known as care farming, combines agricultural work with healing and educational methods. These operations use farming activities as therapeutic tools, offering assistance, building relationships, and generating chances for individual development while providing physical, emotional, and social advantages.

In Augusta County’s countryside, a Christmas tree operation gives young men opportunities for development through productive labor. The 80-acre site has served Boys Home of Virginia students since Joanne Tannehill donated the property in 1994, offering practical educational opportunities.

Small groups of students dedicate weekends each year to caring for thousands of fir trees, managing the property, and acquiring valuable life skills. Spring marks the beginning of their work, as students chart tree rows and determine planting quantities.

“The kids help lay out the grid, and we quiz them on the math,” explained farm manager Rick Hutson.

As the year progresses, students move young trees to new locations, trim branches, maintain fields, and remove unwanted vegetation. During this process, they receive hourly compensation, maintain physical fitness, build friendships, and learn cooperation, accountability, and self-confidence.

Their hard work reaches its peak each autumn when the operation welcomes visitors following Thanksgiving. Students assist customers in choosing and harvesting trees they’ve cared for, fulfill commercial orders, and market wreaths and decorations.

The property, encompassed by beautiful woodland, hiking paths, water features, and open areas, also provides peaceful moments for young men who have encountered challenges in their past.

“The woods can be a very cleansing and therapeutic place,” Hutson said. “And it’s good for them to get out where it’s not as structured.”

In Albemarle County, Innisfree Village has created an uplifting community environment for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities since 1971. At this location, residents—known as coworkers—share living spaces with volunteers, contribute to maintaining the 550-acre community, and develop enduring relationships and abilities through meaningful activities.

“We’re not just an organization focused on care delivery, but rather on everyone being participatory,” said Innisfree’s executive director, Rorie Hutter.

This involvement encompasses farm duties, where coworkers tend to chickens, cattle, sheep, pigs, and turkeys—gathering eggs, moving cows between grazing areas, fixing barriers, providing food, distributing hay, and removing downed trees.

“We have our basic chore checklist, just like every farm,” explained farm manager and longtime volunteer Tim Wool.

Food prepared using fresh eggs and grass-fed meat combined with produce and seasonings from the community’s garden showcase the importance of everyone’s work.

“It’s realizing, ‘I just harvested tomatoes yesterday and now we’re enjoying those incredible tomatoes,'” Hutter said. “That direct correlation is really important for our folks.”

Jobs are kept simple and divided into smaller steps so “individuals with differing abilities can fully participate,” Wool said. Activities are chosen based on personal interest and capability, always prioritizing the welfare of people, animals, and the land.

“There are opportunities here that people probably haven’t been exposed to,” Hutter added. “By setting up a supportive environment, there’s a much more enriched menu of choices.”

Additional information and photographs are available in Winter Cultivate magazine. For media inquiries, contact Asianna Holloway at Boys Home of Virginia at 540-965-7714, or Hutter at 434-823-5400.