A New Information Tool to Help Underserved Audiences Get Started Farming

Abstract

A new tool to help individuals including underserved, rural, and military veteran populations connect to the information and services needed to start a farm from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), other Federal agencies, and partners was developed with librarians at the National Agricultural Library as part of the USDA’s New Farmer website redesign. This tool was intended to provide the most appropriate programs and services available based on self-descriptive data provided by prospective farmers. The development process, data architecture, and user experience considerations for this project will be highlighted as a model for how to connect underserved or special audiences to targeted information sources within a larger organization website. Agriculture specific taxonomies including geographical data requirements is another area of highlight. This poster should be of interest to those working to create greater connection and engagement for underserved audiences within a larger organizations such as a university or government agency.