Written by: OSCIA provincial office Previous
The Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association (OSCIA) launched an exciting new data visualization tool
at its second annual ONFARM Research Forum on February 10, 2022. The virtual event introduced attendees to the On-Farm Applied Research and Monitoring (ONFARM) program and shared accomplishments from the program’s second field season—including developing an interactive, user-friendly Data Dashboard (https://www.osciaresearch.org/onfarm-applied-research/onfarm-data-dashboard/).
The ONFARM program conducts extensive soil health analysis on 25 sites comparing Best Management Practices (BMPs) on working farms across southern Ontario. Researchers with the Soil Resource Group, a Guelph-based agricultural research and resource management consulting firm, collect soil health data at field sites each year. The result is a substantial data set reflective of a wide range in farming operations, soil types and climatic variability. While this gives researchers and farmers much to learn from, improving the accessibility of results is a challenge facing many agricultural research programs.
The dashboard, built using Microsoft Power BI, will serve as a public space for anyone to access ONFARM data and results relevant to their farm or interests. Users can explore well-known soil health measurements, such as organic matter levels alongside more novel indicators like Solvita CO2-Burst and active carbon, or study correlations among them. Filters allow for comparison between ONFARM sites by operation type, tillage practices or landscape position. Additional information about each site, including the BMP(s) and crop rotation, can be found on the interactive map (https://www.osciaresearch.org/onfarm-applied-research/onfarm-interactive-map/). Currently, the dashboard hosts baseline data collected in June 2020 before the BMP treatments were applied.
Figure 1. Data Dashboard showing baseline organic matter levels by region and soil type measured at ONFARM soil health BMP sites.
The dashboard complements a key objective of the ONFARM program—supporting peer-to-peer learning by helping farmers compare what they observe in their own fields to results from farms with similar management practices or soil characteristics. The dashboard will simplify navigation of current and future ONFARM findings and help farmers take full advantage of ONFARM research to inform decision-making.
“ONFARM has such a wealth of data and sharing it publicly on this approachable dashboard enables everyone to put it under their own lens, be that as a farmer or a researcher or a supporter of the practices studied,” shared Angela Straathof, OSCIA Program Director and chair of ONFARM’s Technical Working Group. “We look forward to hearing people’s interpretations and questions that come out of their ONFARM data explorations.”
Using this tool, ONFARM hopes to inform a stronger understanding of BMPs and their effects on soil health and water quality on Ontario agricultural lands. This is just the first iteration of the dashboard, and OSCIA looks forward to exploring other applications of this tool for the ONFARM program and beyond.
Figure 2. Data dashboard showing the distribution of Solvita CO2-Burst data, and its relationships with other soil health parameters.
Explore the dashboard today at: https://www.osciaresearch.org/onfarm-applied-research/onfarm-data-dashboard/. For regular updates on the program, including technical reports, visit the ONFARM website and follow @OntarioSoilCrop on Twitter.
The ONFARM program is a four-year, applied research initiative delivered by OSCIA on behalf of the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs to support soil health and water quality research across farms in Ontario. This program is funded by the Canadian Agricultural Partnership, a five-year federal-provincial-territorial initiative.
For more information about ONFARM, please contact: ONFARM@ontariosoilcrop.org.