Programs
Programs run year-round on the farm. You come out for a few hours, do something real with your hands, and go home. There's no intake packet, no diagnosis, and nothing to qualify for.
Every visit is arranged ahead of time. That's not a hurdle it's so the farm is quiet when you get here, so someone's expecting you, and so nobody's pulling a tractor through the yard while you're trying to sit with the goats.
All visits are scheduled in advance.
Please reach out and we'll set a time that works.
Safety First
This is a working farm. Wear closed-toe boots/shoes, stay with your group, and leave gates as you found them. You'll only be around animals with a staff member present, and nobody is ever required to touch or approach one. Watching from the fence is a complete visit. Participants sign a liability release and emergency contact form on the first visit, anyone under 18 needs a parent or guardian on site, and we reschedule rather than run programs in lightning, ice, or extreme heat. We'll send you everything else before you come.
Peer Support
Veterans and first responders talking with veterans and first responders. Led by people who've been where you've been, not by someone reading about it. Groups are small and the door is never locked from either side.
Family Visits
Spouses, partners, kids, and parents alongside the veteran or first responder, not waiting in a parking lot. Because the people at home carried it too.
Animal Assisted Sessions
Structured coaching or group, facilitated time with the herd
goats, ponies, horses, and cattle. Every session has a facilitator and a focus. Large animals read the nervous system before the face does, which is why this works when talking hasn't.
No riding, no experience, and nobody is required to touch an animal.
Gardening Sessions
Structured coaching or group with in the ground
planting, weeding, harvesting, pruning. Seasonal by nature, which is part of what makes it useful. You put something in the dirt in May and you're still there in September when it comes up.
Sensory & Autism-Friendly Visits
Most places ask an autistic person to tolerate the environment. We build the environment around the visit instead.
You tell us what's hard (sound, crowds, unpredictability, transitions, texture, smell ) and we plan for it before you get here. You'll know what the visit looks like, where the quiet spots are, and how to leave, before you ever get out of the car.
Sensory needs aren't behaviors to correct. They're accurate information about what a body can handle, and we plan around them.
FOR PARENTS AND CAREGIVERS
Children and teens under 18 need a parent or guardian on site and within sight for the entire visit. We don't provide childcare or supervision, and we're not a respite service.
Photos:
We don't photograph participants. If we ever ask, it will be a separate written release, and no is a complete answer with no effect on your visits.
This is not treatment.
We don't diagnose, assess, or provide therapy, ABA, or any clinical service, and nothing here is designed to reduce autistic traits. It's a farm visit built to be usable. If you're looking for clinical services, ask and we'll point you toward providers in the area.
Program Delivery Note
Program design, curriculum, facilitation, and staff training are provided under contract by Viero MH Consulting LLC, a trauma-informed consulting and continuing education practice. Silly Goat Farm Co. is a separate nonprofit organization. Coaching and consulting services are billed by Viero MH Consulting LLC; Petting farm programming is provided by Silly Goat Farm Co. and is donation based.
Schedule a Visit
Please fill out this form and we will do our best to get back to you within two business days.
This form is not monitored around the clock and Silly Goat Farm Co. is not a crisis service. If you're in crisis or thinking about harming yourself, call or text 988 and press 1 for the Veterans Crisis Line, or go to your nearest emergency room.