Jennifer Jarvis, Stakeholder Communications and Marketing Advisor
We’re excited to let you know about the latest updates that we made to the Agricultural Information Atlas (AIA). What is the AIA? It’s the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs’ (OMAFRA) free, easy-to-use online tool that can help you to:
- Develop nutrient management strategies and plans
- Plan tile drainage for your farm
- Develop a farm sketch for Pest Assessment Reports and Bee Yard Registration and other government programs, including the Great Lakes Agricultural Stewardship Initiative (GLASI)
So, what are the changes?
The AIA is now housed on a new platform. If you are a current user of the AIA, you’ll need to update your bookmarks to the new URL so you can find the AIA quickly and easily. Better yet, the AIA is now mobile-friendly. Open it up on your phone or tablet for quick access while you’re in the field or on the go.
Our updates include new features and tools, such as:
- The ability to add your own user data, such as GPS points or shape files
- Auto-population of 911 addresses
- The removal of the “Label Map” function, and added an “export markup” function (i.e. text and graphics) that allows you to save and bring data back in again at another time
- Right-clicking on the map will give you quick and easy access to GPS co-ordinates, basic markup tools and other functions
- 2015 southwestern Ontario imagery data
We’ve also added a Farm Fire Safety Sketch template in the “Create Map” section. You can use the template to develop a sketch of your farm showing features like fire risk areas, utility shut-off points, water sources, livestock barns and access routes for emergency vehicles. This sketch can be shared with local first responders to have on-hand in case of a fire or another emergency. Visit the Farm Fire and Emergency Sketch web page for help with making a sketch for your operation.
Most of the changes we made were based on user feedback. Let us know what you think about the updates and new features at omafra.gis@ontario.ca so that we can continue to improve the AIA.
Need help with the AIA? Our Help page answers some common questions. You can also contact the Agricultural Information Contact Centre at 1-877-424-1300 or ag.info.omafra@ontario.ca.
