Visual analytics and remote sensing imagery to support community-based research for precision agriculture in emerging areas

Agriculture in northern Ontario, Canada, has not yet reached the level of development of the southern regions of the province. In spite of the increasing desirability of the former region for agricultural expansion, northern agricultural producers - as well as other producers in “emerging” areas - have less access to information and decision support services relative to more established agricultural regions. At the same time, geographic information systems (GIS) are now being integrated into precision agriculture to assess field variability, to ensure optimal use of information, to maximize output, and to increase efficiency. To address this trend, a community-based research initiative based on an interactive web-based information visualization and GIS decision support system has been deployed with the aim of providing northern Ontario producers with access to the data they need to make the best possible decisions concerning their crops. This system employs citizen science and community-based participatory research to build a mutually beneficial partnership between agricultural producers, researchers, and other community stakeholders.