The County of Lambton recently received an Award of Excellence for its nutrient management system that helps farmers protect the environment by allowing them to map out their farms and use these maps to show compliance to the province’s nutrient management regulations.
The award was presented by ESRI Canada, a Canadian owned company specializing in geographic information systems (GIS) solutions, at its annual conference in London. County Council got its first look at the award today.
“We are very pleased that ESRI chose to acknowledge our nutrient management system,” said Warden Patricia Davidson. “We’ve been told by many individuals in the agricultural sector that this system has been very beneficial to them.”
When submitting a nutrient management plan to the province, farmers must show how much manure their farms will produce and that they have sufficient area to absorb that production, either on their own property or on contracted properties. The County of Lambton’s nutrient management system lets farmers accurately measure suitable areas. “Farmers can identify surface water and wells so that they can apply the regulated setbacks,” said Quintin Lang, GIS Project Leader. “Coloured buffers identify areas in which nutrient use is restricted or forbidden.” The system also provides contextual information and allows setbacks from other points, such as buildings. It also shows soil types, which can affect the rate at which nutrient can be applied and it produces maps that can be appended to plans to prove compliance to the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food.
It is estimated that approximately 50 per cent of the rural community has computer access, especially in the active, innovative, commercial agricultural operations. Many of these farmers used the system extensively in March 2005 as they applied for provincial funding to help meet their nutrient management targets. Most indicated that the nutrient management system was very helpful to them in completing applications to the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food. The site also lets farmers more accurately determine their planted areas and the agricultural inputs they require.
The nutrient management system is a part of the County’s Geographic Information System (GIS), which also provides businesses with information about markets, development sites and business partners. Citizens can locate community sites like schools and arenas. The GIS was established with the help of the GeoSmart program of the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Human Resources and Social Development Canada and local private and public sector partners.
For more information about Lambton County, visit www.lambtononline.ca.
Contact:
Robert Wilks
Corporate Manager, Information Technology
County of Lambton
Telephone: (519) 845-0801 x365
Fax: (519) 845-3160
email: robert.wilks@county-lambton.on.ca