Adoption of Web-Based Spatial Tools by Agricultural Producers: Conversations with Seven Northeastern Ontario Farmers Using the GeoVisage Decision Support System

This paper reports on the findings of a multi-site qualitative case study research project designed to document the utility and perceived usefulness of weather station and imagery data associated with the online resource GeoVisage among northeastern Ontario farmers. Interviews were conducted onsite...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inAgriculture (Basel) Vol. 7; no. 8; p. 69
Main Authors Jarvis, Daniel, Wachowiak, Mark, Walters, Dan, Kovacs, John
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Basel MDPI AG 01.08.2017
Subjects
Air temperature
Case studies
Cash crops
Crops
Decision making
decision support
Farmers
Farming
Farms
GIS technology
Imagery
Internet
Internet resources
precision agriculture
Public access
Qualitative analysis
Rain
Rainfall
Remote sensing
Research projects
Soil temperature
Verbal communication
Weather
weather station
web-based access
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Summary:This paper reports on the findings of a multi-site qualitative case study research project designed to document the utility and perceived usefulness of weather station and imagery data associated with the online resource GeoVisage among northeastern Ontario farmers. Interviews were conducted onsite at five participating farms (three dairy, one cash crop, and one public access fruit/vegetable) in 2014-2016, and these conversations were transcribed and returned to participants for member checking. Interview data was then entered into Atlas.ti software for the purpose of qualitative thematic analysis. Fifteen codes emerged from the data and findings center around three overarching themes: common uses of weather station data (e.g., air/soil temperature, rainfall); the use of GeoVisage Imagery data/tools (e.g., acreage calculations, remotely sensed imagery); and future recommendations for the online resource (e.g., communication, secure crop imagery, mobile access). Overall, weather station data and tools freely accessible through the GeoVisage site were viewed as representing a timely, positive, and important addition to contemporary agricultural decision-making in northeastern Ontario farming.
ISSN:2077-0472
2077-0472
DOI:10.3390/agriculture7080069