Government and the Agricultural Land Parcel

A simple agricultural field in the countryside often represents a great number of paper transactions that are generally carried out at state and local government levels. Activities associated with land parcel zoning dictate its use within a community; however, these rules are not set in stone, and with time, these land use priorities can change. Such reallocation of land use classification, or variance as it is known, is often a protracted procedure involving many agencies and individuals. Communication is the lubrication necessary between all parties to advance constructively toward an accepted concensus. Governments around the world are discovering the benefits that the Internet can bring to any procedure involving public comment and feedback, and agricultural government is no exception. The rural setting of the majority of agricultural communities has traditionally been less accessible, but the Internet is able to bridge such physical constraints. By combining GIS and the Internet, governmental agricultural offices can inform the public of many different activities that previously relied on personal visits or printed materials. A front-end Web page created using ArcIMS linked to a server running ArcSDE allows the public to access all the relevant information for the parcel of land in which they have an interest. All the relevant data can be stored on a server, providing answers more cost effectively to citizens' questions regarding land taxation, agricultural water rights, and land ownership.

In many parts of the world, agricultural water rights play an important role in development. Once ownership has been established, such applications as the issuance of drilling permits for irrigation purposes or the enforcement of effluent management, legislation leading to liability being established for individuals or groups that do not comply can be carried out.