The “Agricultural Land Practices Groups of the Canadian Prairies” dataset lays out the areas of the 13 Land Practices Groups of the agricultural portions of the Canadian Prairies. They are represented by vector polygons amalgamated (dissolved) from the Version 1.9 SLC polygons sharing common water resources, land use and farming practices as developed in the “Agricultural Land Practices Groups of the Canadian Prairies by SLC Polygon” of this series. The dataset is based upon selected attributes from the Soil Landscapes of Canada (SLC) and the 1996 Census of Agriculture.Typical attributes including: land in pasture, land in summerfallow, crop mixture, farm size and the level of chemical and fertilizer inputs.

The data represents the relative amount of manure production in the agricultural area of Alberta. It is an estimate of the degree to which livestock production may contribute to nutrient loading, pathogens and odour. The classes shown on the map are ranked between 0 (lowest) and 1 (highest). This resource was created in 2002 using ArcGIS.

The data represents the relative cultivation intensity in the agricultural area of Alberta. Cultivation intensity refers to the frequency of cultivation associated with the following management systems: no till, conventional tillage and summerfallow. It is an estimate of the degree to which cultivation contributes to wind and water erosion. The classes shown on the map are ranked between 0 (lowest) and 1 (highest).This map was created in 2002 using ArcGIS.

Productive forest land base is defined as the total Crown forest area, determined by subtracting the following from the total area of the Cariboo Natural Resource Region: * All non-Crown land * All Crown land committed to non-timber use through a Land Act designation * All non-forest Crown Land, and * All forest area classified as brush or non-commercial cover in the Forest Inventory. See the CCLUP Land Use Order Implementation Direction for more information: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/farming-natural-resources-and-industry/natural-resource-use/land-water-use/crown-land/land-use-plans-and-objectives/cariboo-region/cariboochilcotin-rlup/cclup_land_use_order_implementation_direction_companion.pdf

The “Agricultural Major Land Practices Groups of the Canadian Prairies” dataset lays out the areas of the 5 Major Land Practices Groups of the agricultural portions of the Canadian Prairies. They are represented by vector polygons amalgamated (dissolved) from the Version 1.9 SLC polygons sharing common water resources, land use and farming practices as developed in the “Agricultural Land Practices Groups of the Canadian Prairies by SLC Polygon” of this series. The dataset is based upon selected attributes from the Soil Landscapes of Canada (SLC) and the 1996 Census of Agriculture.Typical attributes including: land in pasture, land in summerfallow, crop mixture, farm size and the level of chemical and fertilizer inputs.

Understanding the state and trends in agriculture production is essential to combat both short-term and long-term threats to stable and reliable access to food for all, and to ensure a profitable agricultural sector. Starting in 2009, the Earth Observation Team of the Science and Technology Branch (STB) at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) began the process of generating annual crop type digital maps. Focusing on the Prairie Provinces in 2009 and 2010, a Decision Tree (DT) based methodology was applied using optical (Landsat-5, AWiFS, DMC) and radar (Radarsat-2) based satellite images. Beginning with the 2011 growing season, this activity has been extended to other provinces in support of a national crop inventory. To date this approach can consistently deliver a crop inventory that meets the overall target accuracy of at least 85% at a final spatial resolution of 30m (56m in 2009 and 2010).

Often these parcels were surveyed before township surveys in their area. They may also be supplemental to them (as is the case with some Cadastral Islands). Sometimes these were laid out after a township survey was done, so some may be part of a geographic township. Cadastral Location includes the following: GTP Block - Timber block used by the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway for feeding steam engines, building bridges, and for supplying railway ties. Mining Location - A parcel of land whose surveyed boundaries were laid out during the late nineteenth century for the Crown sale of land for mining purposes to groups or individuals. Cadastral Island - Island delineated on survey plans. It may or may not be part of a geographic township. Other Location - A parcel of land whose surveyed boundaries were laid out during the late nineteenth century for the Crown sale of land for various agricultural or farming purposes to groups or individuals. These locations are mainly found in Northern Ontario and also exist in the un-surveyed territories.

In 2010 the Earth Observation Team of the Science and Technology Branch (STB) at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) continued the process of generating annual crop inventory digital maps using satellite imagery. Focusing on the Prairie Provinces, a Decision Tree (DT) based methodology was applied using both optical (AWiFS, Landsat-5, DMC) and radar (RADARSAT-2) based satellite imagery, and having a final spatial resolution of 56m. Methods were also developed to enhance the optical classification with RADARSAT-2 imagery, addressing issues associated with cloud cover. In conjunction with satellite acquisitions, ground-truth information was provided by provincial crop insurance companies and point observations from our regional AAFC colleagues. The overall process for Crop Inventory Map includes: satellite data acquisition; field data acquisition for classification training and accuracy assessment; and, operational implementation of the classification methodology.

In 2009 the Earth Observation Team of the Science and Technology Branch (STB) at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) began the process of generating annual crop inventory digital maps using satellite imagery. Focusing on the Prairie Provinces, a Decision Tree (DT) based methodology was applied using both optical (AWiFS, Landsat-5) and radar (RADARSAT-2) based satellite imagery, and having a final spatial resolution of 56m. Methods were also developed to enhance the optical classification with RADARSAT-2 imagery, addressing issues associated with cloud cover. In conjunction with satellite acquisitions, ground-truth information was provided by provincial crop insurance companies and point observations from our regional AAFC colleagues. The overall process for Crop Inventory Map includes: satellite data acquisition; field data acquisition for classification training and accuracy assessment; and, operational implementation of the classification methodology.The initial methodology was developed in partnership with AAFC Research Branch, and supported in part by the Canadian Space Agency. The long-term objective of this endeavour is to expand from the Prairies and produce an annual crop inventory of the entire agricultural extent of Canada.

In 2012, the Earth Observation Team of the Science and Technology Branch (STB) at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) repeated the process of generating annual crop inventory digital maps using satellite imagery to for all of Canada (except Newfoundland), in support of a national crop inventory. A Decision Tree (DT) based methodology was applied using optical (DMC, SPOT) and radar (RADARSAT-2) based satellite images, and having a final spatial resolution of 30m. In conjunction with satellite acquisitions, ground-truth information was provided by provincial crop insurance companies and point observations from our regional AAFC colleagues.