This work is supported by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network (FRSAN) project 2020-70028-32729.

Para obtener información en español, envíe un correo electrónico a nuestro equipo de conferencias al Dr. Ivette Ruiz.

Conference GPS Address Location:
Camp Harkness | 301 Great Neck Road | Waterford, CT 06385 

The Northeast Disability and Agriculture Conference is a first-time regional event designed to educate and empower the agricultural community. Through workshops and presentations, farmer attendees will learn how to better advocate for themselves, and service provider and community supporter attendees will learn how to identify potential distress risks within the community. Together attendees will learn how to build a network sharing skills and resources to improve accessibility and reduce industry incidents of suicide.

There is NO cost to attend the conference.
Registration closes on Tuesday, January 31st

For conference registration questions please feel free to contact our conference support team at [email protected].  

KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Presented by Chris Laughton
Of Farm Credit East Director of Knowledge Exchange  

UNITED IN HEALING - A COMMITTMENT TO WELLNESS: 

We will hear and learn about Farm Credit East’s forward and proactive approach to their community’s needs. Chris will talk about the evolution and journey of the Customer Assistance Program (CAP). The program is modeled after Employee Assistance Programs (EAP) that are often available to employees in organizations. The Customer Assistance Program offers a diverse range of wellness programs from personal health to family, relationships, personal growth, professional development, counseling to working through financial and legal obligations and are all available to Farm Credit East customers 24/7 at no cost. Chris will share data, resources and lessons learned from people with diverse abilities from their many years utilizing the CAP program. And, finally we will hear stories from the field.  

BREAKOUT SESSIONS:   

Best Practices and Resources to Support Growers: Presented by Chris Laughton This session is designed for Service Providers and Community Supporters Only.

Farm Credit East's Chris Laughton will share about his years farming in his family’s greenhouse and nursery business while working with individuals with disabilities. In this interactive workshop, service providers and community supporters will learn how to identify potential distress risks within the communities they serve and acquire strategies on how to respond effectively. Chris will provide tools and resources in addition to the CAP program to equip learners. Through storytelling, Chris will highlight how to identify customer needs and will share best practices that will equip learners to better serve their clients. Together attendees will discuss how to build a more responsive AG network; sharing skills and resources that improve service accessibility and reduce industry incidents of suicide.

Mr. Chris Laughton is the Director of Knowledge Exchange at Farm Credit East, where he has worked for over a decade. Chris coordinates Farm Credit East’s customer education and beginning farmer programs. He grew up in Eastern Massachusetts, where he worked in his family’s greenhouse and nursery business before joining Farm Credit East. He holds a bachelor’s degree in horticulture from Cornell University, a Master of Business Administration from the University of Massachusetts, and a Master of Science in applied and resource economics from the University of Connecticut. .  

A Dialogue on Disability: Presented by David Ingalls This session is designed for Farmers, Forestry and Fishery Attendees Only.

Everyone deserves respect, the freedom to live with dignity, with or without a disability, and to share equal responsibility ensuring equity and equality for all. This engaging presentation will provide a space for self-care, reflections and tough discussions. Attendees will learn how to advocate for themselves and exercise their voice as part of their healing process.

Mr. David Ingalls is a retired therapist who is enjoying retirement while running his own farm. “He picked up where his dad left off”. He owns Ingalls Blueberry Hill Farm, a certified organic U-Pick blueberry operation in New York. His agricultural experiences began 11 generations ago on the family farm. He uses a gravity-fed drip irrigation system and powers his well-house with solar panels. His home, at the top of the farm, is heated through geothermal. Mr. Ingalls is married with four sons and enjoys worship at a local church. He knows the cure for whatever might trouble you: In an interview he said, “I get a lot of doctors here and I want to tell them they should write prescriptions for people to come and pick blueberries!” From counseling, to cows, vegetables, bees and honey to blueberries Mr. Ingalls has the remedy for us all.  

RealTalk: Disability and Access in Agriculture : Presented by Dr. Ivette Ruiz This session is designed for ALL participants.

In this interactive session, Healing by Growing Farms Founder, Dr. Ivette Ruiz will share highlights from the conference survey, answer the top (5) questions from the responses and lead us through a group activity and thought-provoking discussion.

Healing by Growing Farms founder, Dr. Ivette Ruiz, was inspired to create a healing trauma-based farm after suffering a Traumatic Brain Injury herself two years ago while preparing for a disaster relief deployment during Hurricane Isaias in 2020. Her brain injury caused prolonged PCS (Post-Concussion Syndrome), and her life has not been the same since; she has experienced discrimination, unemployment, and a lack of proper and timely medical care and attention. After realizing how difficult it was to get any treatment or understanding, her salvation was working in her home gardens, tending to her chickens and finding a way to help those impacted gravely by the COVID pandemic. As a Latinx 3rd generation new farmer and first-generation doctoral graduate, Dr. Ruiz wants to use her vast knowledge and experiences to help others who have gone and are going through similar hardships. Her executive work in healthcare, humanitarian relief, public service, food sovereignty, social justice and education helped lead her to this innovative ministry and the first Northeast Disability and Agriculture Conference.

Closing Healing Ceremony: Presented by Crystal Jeter-Prince & Rev. Ariel Aaronson-Eves This voluntary post-conference gathering will offer a calming space for attendees to unite in reflection and meditation as they process the content of the conference. Attendees will come together in prayer for healing, mind, body and soul. There will be a moment of silence to remember those we have lost and to relinquish pain, hurt, and feelings of distress. The ceremony will end with an optional cold-water immersion "cold plunge" into ocean waters symbolizing healing and renewal. 

Crystal has been a supporter of Healing by Growing Farms since 2021 as a member of the executive team. From a young age and through life experiences, she has cultivated a relationship with God and has made prayer a standard practice for living. She counts it a privilege to be a part of the Healing Ceremony.

Ariel has been a part of Cultivemos since 2021, working with the Queer Service Provider cohort and currently leading the Mental Health cohort. They are honored to be able to support the Disability and Agriculture cohort with this conference.  


-Registration & Breakfast: 8am to 9am

-Conference Sessions: 9am to 3pm

-Post-Conference Outdoor Activities: 3:30pm to 4:30pm


A Wellness Room Experience: The Wellness Room will offer attendees resources on wellness initiatives, share health education information, raise awareness of health risks, and promote organizational benefits and community resources.

Resource Room: The Resource Room will offer attendees information on provider services and community resource sponsors.

Mental Health Provider: A licensed mental health, queer, disabled farm worker will be available during workshop periods to attendees who desire to make use of this resource. These brief conversations will be strengths-based, nonjudgmental, and focused on triaging and providing resources. Conversations will be conducted in a private space; privacy and confidentiality will be maintained.

Raffle: Raffle tickets will be available for sale as a fundraiser to benefit Healing by Growing Farms.

Meals:  A light continental breakfast and lunch will be served.  

Let’s keep each other safe! Masks are welcome. Be sure and test before the conference.  

ACCOMMODATIONS* All farmers and community supporters attending the conference in person will receive a stipend to help cover expenses (i.e., travel, food, hotel accommodation).

-A transportation assistance stipend will also be available for farm service providers to address transportation barriers. Transportation support is available for groups of 12 or more.

-Sensory kits and noise canceling headphones are available to attendees by request only. *By request only. Please email us to identify your accommodation needs.  

LODGING:  For your convenience, a block of rooms has been reserved at three local hotels. The room block is available beginning Friday, February 3, 2023 until Sunday, February 5, 2023. When calling to make your reservation, please mention HEALING BY GROWING in order to receive a discounted rate. Be sure to book your hotel room by the dates listed below in order to receive the discount.

-Clarion Inn New London - Mystic 269 North Frontage Road, New London, CT, 06320   Discounted rate is $75 each night and includes breakfast. Call 860-442-0631 to make your reservation or use the link, https://www.choicehotels.com/reservations/groups/HN32C9 Must book by 1/30/2023.

-SpringHill Suites Waterford 401 North Frontage Road Waterford, CT, 06385   Discounted rate is $130 each night and includes breakfast. Call 860-439-0151 to make your reservation or book online. Must book by 1/21/2023.

-Holiday Inn An IHG Hotel 35 Governor Winthrop Boulevard New London, CT 06320   Discounted rate is $139 each night; breakfast is additional. Call 860-443-7000 to make your reservation or book online. Must book by 1/20/2023.