Known & Grown's Knowledge Commons: An Innovative Approach to Traditional Knowledge-Sharing

Project Overview

ONC26-192
Project Type: Partnership
Funds awarded in 2026: $49,990.00
Projected End Date: 03/31/2028
Grant Recipient: Gateway Sustainable Farmers Alliance (Known & Grown STL)
Region: North Central
State: Missouri
Project Coordinator:
Nicki Morgan
Email
Gateway Sustainable Farmers Alliance (Known & Grown STL)

Commodities

No commodities identified

Practices

No practices identified

Proposal abstract:

Traditionally, knowledge is passed from one generation to the next. However, today's beginning farmers often do not hail from farming families, and in a culture that places value on individualism with most human interactions occurring online, these systems of knowledge transfer have broken down, and wisdom is regularly lost, leaving the next generations to start over with trial and error in isolation.

With The Knowledge Commons, we are taking an innovative approach to this issue by creating a way for farmers to have direct access to knowledge from previous generations of farmers, along with resources and community, in a way that feels more comfortable to their learning styles and more accessible than a traditional mentorship program.

Our initiative will provide farmers in Missouri and Illinois within 150 miles of St Louis a direct connection to expert farmers (Farm Coach) in the community and the plethora of skills and knowledge available through an online directory. Users will schedule a one-on-one meeting with the farmer of their choice to guide them through decision-making, learning a new skill, or accessing additional resources. These coaching sessions will create new relationships, strengthen our network of farmers, and advance sustainable farming in the St Louis region.

Project objectives from proposal:

  • Support beginning farmers and farmers looking to expand into new enterprises or learn new skills
  • Strengthen relationships between beginning and expert farmers
  • Create a network of support
  • Expand awareness of skills/knowledge available in our community
  • Collect data on what users are most interested in and incorporate new topics that are not listed to provide a dynamic service
  • Understand further implications for educational programming
  • Create a user-friendly way to connect farmers for knowledge sharing
  • Create an alternative for knowledge sharing outside of traditional methods like mentorship programs which are less popular with younger generations of farmers
Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and should not be construed to represent any official USDA or U.S. Government determination or policy.