Farm-Scape is sponsored by Manitoba Pork Council and Sask Pork Play Audio Farm-Scape is a Wonderworks Canada production and is distributed courtesy of Manitoba Pork Council and Sask Pork.

Farm-Scape, Episode 1460

A Georgetown, Ontario company has completed the development of a national template designed to help harmonize Geographic Information Systems data gathering and storage across Canada.

Angus Geosolutions was contracted to create a national structure to harmonize GIS data gathering and storage to allow the information to be used to defend against foreign animal disease.

Consulting Services Vice President Geoff Cameron says the template will assist in building a national system that will be fully functional across all livestock species no matter where an outbreak might occur.

"The GIS template is designed to provide a guide on how to collect and maintain georeference information on farm premises or livestock premises across Canada.

One of the major intents of the template is to make sure that it integrates and is compatible with the national livestock ID program as well as national livestock traceability initiates as they proceed into the future.

The template itself defines what a livestock premise is. It also defines what information we need to know about those premises and what standards we build to nationally so we have a standardized product nationally.

One of the big issues has always been, for any geographic project that's gone on in Canada, they tend to be specific to either a province or a local area.

This one was really to say, 'hey, how do we actually build something that's going to work on a national basis".

Cameron says the system will encompass all livestock species and all producers as well as non producers including truckers, abattoirs or zoos where disease might spread and it will go beyond disease to address any type of livestock emergency.

He's confident a working system that will integrate within existing structures can be operational within the year.

For Farmscape.Ca, I'm Bruce Cochrane.