GIS Bites into Agricultural Government

As befits the second oldest industry in the world, Twenty-first century agriculture is certainly one of the most regulated of industries. In fact, the regulation of agriculture will most likely increase as the public becomes more interested in issues related to food safety. So the question is, "Where does the responsibility lie for maintaining a safe food supply and enforcing compliance with agricultural regulations?" The answer is "the government," with the greatest burden for enforcement placed on state and county agricultural agencies.

"All true," I hear you say, "but so what?"

Well, it is my belief that we are just seeing the tip of the iceberg in terms of state and local agricultural government's use of GIS applications to assist with regulating agriculture. Agricultural commissioners, state departments of agriculture, and county government agencies operate from geographically dispersed offices and generate large volumes of agricultural data that is used for planning, assessing, monitoring, regulating, and coordinating agriculturally related activities. These operations are enhanced by the use of GIS.

State and county agencies serve a public that is becoming increasingly aware of food safety issues and requires more information. Although mapping and use of the Internet greatly aid the dissemination of datasets that vary across geographies, rural areas of the United States have historically suffered from data shortages. However, this situation will soon be eased by an increase in GIS use by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and its standardization on ESRI software. For example, the USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) is mapping 16 million fields across the nation with the goal of creating a national GIS for developing farm-level compliance. The following applications demonstrate the many uses for GIS in the government regulation of agriculture.

Compliance Programs for Crop Inputs
Although crop inputs take many forms, pesticides pose the greatest hazard to the environment and, for this reason, state agricultural agencies must carefully manage pesticide applications to achieve an acceptable balance between the economic interests of the farming community and the health of the larger community. Regulation of pesticide use varies from state to state, but all states require the collection of information such as how much and where pesticides have been applied. Because much of this information is tied to a discrete land parcel or field, it can be most easily stored and manipulated spatially. Storing this information within a GIS allows state officials to better manage the permit application process, perform water quality monitoring, and investigate point source pollution events.

Pest Control
Integrated pest management relies on accurate data related to the quantity and location of pests within a county. Using insect traps and field observations, government entomologists identify infestations and recommend remedial measures. GIS plays an important role in data collection, interpolation, and analysis. Data can be gathered in the field on handheld units running ArcPad, analyzed in the office using ArcView, and disseminated using ArcIMS to send farmers current information on pest outbreak locations, areas of potential risk, and recommendations for eradication. A public Web page supplies real-time information that can reduce the impact of infestations.

Business Licensing for Food Processors
Large food processing and production facilities must comply with governmental guidelines for hygiene, operating conditions, and product quality. From initial license application to issuance, GIS helps agencies communicate and work with food companies. GIS can provide inspectors with optimized route and map information for premises to be inspected and allow real-time central database updates of data collected from handheld devices running GIS. These benefits result in better planning and service to both the food industry and the consumer.

These are just a few examples of GIS applications. The CD-ROM ESRI GIS Solutions for Agricultural Government includes information on and examples of more than 14 applications of GIS in state and local agricultural government as well as datasets, free evaluation software, and additional information on how GIS is used by government agricultural agencies.