Decision Support for Agricultural Development in Manitoba

• Project background
• Project objectives
• Project method and results
• Conclusion
• Next steps
• Download reports

Project Background

Healthy water and soil resources are vital to a productive agricultural industry in Manitoba. As agricultural production, both livestock and crop, intensifies in Manitoba as a result of domestic policy changes and an ever increasing competitive world agricultural market, additional demands have been placed on land and water resources. As a result local governments, the agriculture and agri-food industry, and especially local landowners are under increasing pressure to plan and undertake actions that address the environmental priorities of all Canadians. The key to meeting this challenge is through making information, knowledge and expertise available to local decision makers.

Planning to accommodate growth in agriculture requires analysis of data in several areas including land, water, policy, and demographics. This analysis can be highly complex and requires specialized skills in agronomy, engineering, computer science and expertise in bring skills, knowledge, and information together using geographical information system (GIS) analysis and electromagnetic surveys. Most local governments lack the technical knowledge and skill sets to assess the impact of agricultural development. In recognition of the constraints faced by local governments, Keystone Agricultural Producers, Western Economic Diversification and Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration undertook a joint project to provide local decision makers with the tools and information necessary to make informed decisions regarding agricultural development and to assist in environmental farm planning.

Keystone Agricultural Producers (KAP) represents and promotes the interests of agriculture and agricultural producers in Manitoba and thus has a strong understanding of the challenges facing agriculture and the issues surrounding the changing agricultural landscape in rural Manitoba. KAP has committed to provide ongoing support to agricultural producers and to assist them to build a sustainable agricultural sector in Manitoba.

Western Economic Diversification (WD), recognizing that these planning tools strengthen the capability of local governments to respond to agricultural economic opportunities that will enhance Manitoba’s rural economy, provided funding to deliver decision support tools to local governments and decision makers within rural Manitoba.

Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration (PFRA) has the technical skill set, including expertise in the use of Geographical Information Systems, to assist local governments in agricultural planning. In addition, with a strong working relationship between PFRA and agricultural producers and organizations, PFRA is familiar with what is required by decision makers for environmental planning for agriculture.

Project Objectives

Currently the majority of local decision makers lack the information required to make informed, transparent and defendable decisions regarding agricultural development. As agriculture intensifies and expands, the potential for impact of land and water resources also intensifies. Resource based information such as soil, water and land use information is essential for effective environmental planning to occur. The objectives of this project was to utilize Decision Support Systems and Electromagnetic/Global Positioning Syurveys, to provide rural municipalities and local decision makers with the data, tools and expertise needed to make informed decisions regarding agricultural development and address emerging economic opportunities.

Decision Support Systems (DSS) use a geographical information system (GIS) to combine technical expertise and resource information including soil, water, infrastructure, location of livestock operations, residence locations, data analysis, municipal by-laws, and provincial guidelines into decision support tools that local governments can use to make informed decisions regarding agricultural development. These tools allow decision makers to evaluate potential impacts from a variety of development opportunities and illustrate options in a map format. Results from DSS include the development of resource databases, data analysis and a preliminary planning framework needed for local agricultural and rural development; the enhanced capacity of local decision makers to use resource information to make sustainable land use decisions; and the promotion of a stable diversified rural economy.

Electromagnetic/Global Positioning Systems (EM/GPS) surveys provide detailed information about shallow subsurface geologic materials. Technical advisors to the agricultural sector can used this information in a number of ways, including general soil characterizations, environmental monitoring, groundwater investigations and geotechnical appraisals. A significant limitation in the adaption of this technology has been limited access to fields due to wet conditions, crop and winter. This project will extend the period of operation by determining the range of winter conditions that using EM/GPS equipment is feasible.

Project Methods and Results

Individual projects were developed through discussions with partnering rural municipalities and local decision makers to determine issues currently facing them and the resources needed to properly address them. From these discussions, eleven separate decision support projects were selected and completed under this initiative. As the needs of rural municipalities and local decision makers vary across the province, the issues facing them also vary. Issues for which local decision makers desired assistance included planning for livestock expansion, manure management, disease transfer from wildlife to domesticate livestock, the location and prioritizing of abandoned wells for capping, watershed management, water quality, and suitability for seed potato production.

Under the direction of KAP, PFRA’s District staff used existing information on infrastructure, roads, hydrology, soils, landsat satellite imagery and other applicable data to address project issues. Typically, additional data about livestock operations, water wells and agricultural practices was collected, as required, with the assistance of PFRA district and rural municipality staff. PFRA staff, in consultation with local decision makers worked to combine, assess, evaluate and analyse data in a GIS environment. Finally, information (digital and hardcopy), results, planning tools and a final report were presented to local governments and decision makers. Results from specific projects can found in the individual project reports produced by PFRA.

Through their participation in these eleven decision support projects, fifteen rural municipalities, two conservation districts and a number of local groups were engaged in a resource planning process for agricultural development. From this process, decision makers were provided with project reports, data, expertise, analysis and tools required for making sustainable decision about agricultural development. Information and analysis from these projects may also be used to address other land use planning challenges. As a result, local decision makers now have an improved capability to make informed decisions about agricultural or other economic development opportunities within their communities.

Electromagnetic/Global Positioning System

One technical project was also conducted under this initiative to examine the winter use of electromagnetic (EM) and global positioning system (GPS) technologies and surveys. Presently, time available for conducting surveys are limited by winter conditions and access to fields. Winter testing of EM/GPS equipment was done to determine if surveys could be conducted in the winter and if the results of the survey were accurate. Equipment winterization, winter surveys of previously surveyed fields, data analysis and final report production was conducted by PFRA. Results indicate there is a great potential to conduct EM/GPS surveys in the winter, dramatically increasing the time available to access agricultural lands and provide additional information to assist decision making.

Conclusion

Healthy water and soil resources are vital to a productive and diverse agricultural industry in Manitoba. In response to domestic policy changes and an ever increasing competitive world agricultural market, the livestock and crop production industries within Manitoba continue to become more diverse and intensive. However, rural development must consider the needs of the communities and create land use plans that are both environmentally and socially sustainable.

Through this project local decision makers were engaged in an agricultural planning process that involved identifying an issue of local importance, gathering the necessary information, and conducting analysis to assess the issue. The results of the analysis were then converted into maps, tables and reports that allowed local decision makers to spatially illustrate the current status of agriculture development. Local decision makers were also exposed to land and water resource data, demographic data and other information and how with proper analysis, this information can assist them in the decision making process. Using DSS local decision makers have increased their capacity to make open, accountable, fact based land use decisions. The information collected can also be integrated into a comprehensive system for management of daily municipal affairs. This information will allow local decision makers to address current and future agricultural and non agricultural development opportunities, thereby strengthening rural Manitoba.

Through the project, participating municipalities developed a foundation of digital information. Combining this information with a fundamental understanding of land and water resources in a local area and the strains placed on the local environment, agricultural based impacts on the environment can be recognized and appropriate solutions developed. In addition, information used in this project can also be utilized to create environmental plans for individual farms, businesses, and developments. As the impact of agriculture and non agricultural products on the environment is often a cumulation of individual agricultural practices, understanding potential impacts on a municipal or watershed basis will result in more effective regional environmental planning within Agro-Manitoba.

Provincial and local partnerships were developed and strengthened under the project. Through this initiative, government agencies, including Western Economic Diversification, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration), Manitoba Agriculture and Food, and Manitoba Intergovernmental Affairs, worked with Keystone Agricultural Producers and the producer organizations represented by KAP to provide assistance to local decision makers with sustainable agricultural planning throughout Manitoba. On a project level, numerous local partnerships were established and strengthened between local organizations, governments, and decision makers. Local partners included conservation districts, organizations concerned with watersheds, water quality, economic development and agriculture, and rural municipalities.

Next Steps

These projects successfully demonstrated how technology such as DSS and EM can be used by rural communities in developing land use plans and making decisions for their communities. However, if the use of this technology by rural landuse planners is to become more widespread throughout Manitoba certain challenges must be met. DSS and EM technology is not commonly known or understood by the majority of rural decisions makers in Manitoba. An improved awareness of the capacity of DSS to facilitate fact based public discussion and input into landuse planing decisions is needed. Rural decision makers need additional experience and assistance in using this technology to allow them to create an efficient, open and accountable local government that is able to be proactive and overcome rural development and planning issues early in the decision making process.

A higher level of cooperation and coordination between organizations and resource specialists involved in rural land use planning is also needed. Sourcing needed information is complicated by issues involving the availability and form of digital data. Organization that are responsible for resource data typically have not created user friendly databases and information for distribution. As a result these organization often restrict access to those who have the capability to understand and work with the raw data. In addition, most organizations have a limited capacity to prepare and deliver data to rural decision makers upon request. This creates situations where rural decision makers must have highly trained staff with expertise in GIS and land and water resources if they wish to access and use this information. A more open environment related to data sharing, technical expertise and software systems needs to be developed within Manitoba. Much of this could be addressed through the creation of a centralized information system where all organization can place data that follows standardized methods of data collection, format, storage and delivery. Such a system would allow a simplified method of distributing uniform data products and information to all Manitobans.

Project Report and Distribution

Keystone Agricultural Producers retains ownership of the final reports and was responsible for the distribution of the reports to project partners. The Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration holds, in trust, the final reports, and corresponding digital data.

LIST OF REPORTS

Rural Municipality of Hanover Agricultural Mapping Project

Maps 1-8; Map 9; Map 10; Map 11;

Decision Support Tool for Little Saskatchewan River Conservation District Abandoned Well Survey

Map 1; Map 2; Map 3; Map 4; Map 5; Map 6;

Decision Support Tool for Turtle Mountain Conservation District Watershed Planning

Map 1; Map 2; Map 3; Map 4; Map 5; Map 6; Map 7; Map 8; Map 9; Map 10; Map 11; Map 12; Map 13; Map 14; Map 15; Map 16; Map 17; Map 18; Map 19; Map 20;

Livestock Decision Support Tool for the Rural Municipality of Blanshard

Map 1; Map 2; Map 3; Map 4; Map 5; Map 6; Map 7; Map 8; Map 9; Map 10; Map 11; Map 12; Map 13; Map 14; Map 15; Map 16; Map 17

Livestock Decision Support Tool for the Rural Municipality of Clanwilliam

Map 1; Map 2; Map 3; Map 4; Map 5; Map 6; Map 7; Map 8; Map 9; Map 10; Map 11; Map 12; Map 13; Map 14; Map 15; Map 16; Map 17;

Agricultural Practices in the Shell River Watershed

Map 1; Map 2; Map 3; Map 4; Map 5; Map 6; Map 7;

Detecting Land Use Change in the Swan Lake Basin

Map 1; Map 2; Map 3; Map 4; Map 5; Map 6;

Feasibility for the Expansion of Seed Potatoes in Northwest Manitoba (Parkland)

Map 1; Map 2; Map 3; Map 4;

Mapping of Over-Wintering Sites in the Rural Municipalities of Grandview, Gilbert Plains and Dauphin

Map 1; Map 2; Map 3; Map 4; Map 5; Map 6; Map 7; Map 8;

Livestock Decision Support Tool for the Rural Municipality of Lorne

Map 1; Map 2; Map 3; Map 4; Map 5; Map 6; Map 7; Map 8; Map 9; Map 10; Map 11; Map 12; Map 13;

Livestock Decision Support Tool for the Rural Municipality of Pembina

Map 1; Map 2; Map 3; Map 4; Map 5; Map 6; Map 7; Map 8; Map 9; Map 10; Map 11; Map 12;

Technical

Winterization of Electromagnetic and Global Positioning System Equipment and Surveys