GeoVisage tool helping farmers grow, now online

With Thanksgiving just over a month away, and a bountiful harvest on many minds, area farmers have one more thing to be thankful for: Nipissing University’s GeoVisage web-based system is now fully online.
The system is used by Northern Ontario agricultural producers to support key decisions in the increasingly important agricultural regions of Temiskaming Shores, Verner, and Cochrane.  

To collect data for the GeoVisage system, Nipissing operates seven weather stations throughout Northern Ontario. They collect data on its microclimates, including such vital real-time weather information as air and soil temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, leaf wetness, and photosynthetically active radiation. The system also calculates valuable growing-degree-days and crop-heating-unit values to assist farmers in planning.  

The newest feature to GeoVisage is an imagery application, based on NASA GIS technology, to display remote sensing images, soil maps, yield maps, and field imagery captured with the Geography department’s unmanned aerial vehicles. Users also have the capability to display digital photos to better identify crop conditions and to alert the community of possible pest infestations. Online tutorials guide new users through the numerous features.

“GeoVisage is a prime example of a successful interdisciplinary collaboration at Nipissing, with a team comprised of Dr. Dan Walters, Dr. John Kovacs and Dr. April James from the Geography department , and myself from Computer Science and Mathematics,” said Dr. Mark Wachowiak, associate professor. “Collaborations with Agriculture Canada and Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs show that this is a great example of community-based research, involving producers and government agencies during all stages of development.”

The multi-year project, funded by the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund, the Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association, and Nipissing University, has provided valuable practical educational experiences for students in Geography and Computer Science, and has given them skills to work across disciplinary boundaries to achieve a successful large-scale community-based project.

GeoVisage is a dynamic web-based system, and continues to develop in response to the needs and requirements of the producers.  

Check out GeoVisage on your own, right here.