Agricultural production is impacted by both the ecological characteristics and processes of a farm and the land-management decisions that alter them. This project improves our ability to collect data on agricultural systems and unpack the complex decisions made by farmers and policy makers, who are striving to increase agricultural production, farm livelihoods, and reduce associated ecological impacts.

The project combines unmanned aerial vehicle infrastructure with tablet technology and ecological field equipment to collect new data in an innovative way and uses those data in a new agent-based agricultural land management system (AALMS) simulation model. The AALMS model simulates farmer responses to changing socio-economic, policy, and climate scenarios. Alms - the act of charitable giving - inspired the model name and reminds the project team that integrated farmer-science-policy research and collaborative learning have the potential to positively impact the lives of others. Simulation results can inform farmers and policy makers of the potential economic and ecological consequences of their decisions. Collected data are given to farmers and simulation results are made available to the public so that they may better understand the complexities associated with farming and the trade-offs and synergies amongst ecological functions that occur in response to management decisions.

This research is possible with infrastructure provided by the Canadian Foundation for Innovation.

Students: If you have funding available and would like to work on this project please send an email outlining your funding status, why you are interested in the project, and your unofficial transcript. Farmers: If you are interested in working with our project team and infrastructure please send an email along with contact information and a member from our team will contact you.