GeoAgro Cplanner Overview
From Wikiagro.com
Contents |
What is GeoAgro Cplanner?
GeoAgro Cplanner is a software application focused on developing conservation planning activities more efficiently and report conservation practices, plans, and documents to the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) through the Internet.
In a nutshell, it enables:
- Technical Service Providers or affiliate entities (e.g.: State Agencies, Conservation Districts) working outside the NRCS network....
- access a Producer/landowner information (a.k.a. customer folder) in the NRCS Conservation Planning database...
- develop conservation planning activities and report electronically to the NRCS
GeoAgro CPlanner works together with GeoAgro GIS as the GPS/mapping component; also, geographic information can be exported to other GIS software. For more information on both software tools, please visit www.cplanner.com.
What is required to use GeoAgro CPlanner?
In order to use GeoAgro CPlanner, users need to:
- Have a USDA account required to access USDA systems
- Be a certified Technical Service Provider (TSP) or be a member of an NRCS affiliate organization, such as a Conservation District or State Agency working with the NRCS.
For more information, visit what is required to use GeoAgro CPlanner
What USDA NRCS resources are available through GeoAgro CPlanner/GIS?
National Conservation Planning Database
The National Conservation Planning Database (NCP db), is the repository where the NRCS stores all conservation planning data. It currently holds information about approximately 200,000 Conservation Plans, including conservation planning records, and more recently, document files related with each conservation plan. The following map shows a distribution of Conservation Plans locations, stored in the NCP db.
Available GIS resources - Web Soil Survey, Imagery, and other sources
GeoAgro CPlanner can be used to download land unit boundaries from the NCP db.
After these boundaries are imported into GeoAgro GIS, the application will bring online imagery, topography and soils map unit boundaries and data, from NRCS Servers, and other public or private resources can be imported into the map. Also, the boundaries can be exported to shapefiles for use in other GIS software.
What are the benefits of using GeoAgro CPlanner?
For end users (Technical Service Providers, Conservation Districts, State Agencies):
- Get access from anywhere to customer folders, save time in gathering customer folder information & delivering to field office.
- Working with farm georeferenced, digital information enables TSPs to streamline their conservation planning mapping, field visits, record keeping, and sharing information with their team and producers. This translates in lower costs and better service.
For the NRCS Field office:
- Can setup the conservation plan information just by granting permissions, doesn't need to prepare paper files with background information; the TSP downloads land resources information (soils, imagery, topo) from NRCS Servers.
- More efficient reviews and information exchange with TSP.
For Conservation Planning in general:
- Faster aggregated reports for management, since there is no need to reenter data.
- Cost savings by avoiding duplication of efforts.
- By going from a paper intensive to a digital workflow, there are a number of benefits that will be gradually seen, such as improved data quality, facilitating teamwork, facilitating mobile work, integrating producers in the conservation planning process, more efficient followup, auditing and monitoring, etc.
How to start using GeoAgro CPlanner
To start using GeoAgro CPlanner, you can follow these steps:
- Sign up for upcoming online CPlanner training, at http://www.cplanner.com
- Review this self-paced GeoAgro CPlanner Tutorial
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