Manure Production Index for Alberta Agricultural Areas

Alberta's agricultural area is covered by a geospatial index estimating relative manure production. The index, created in 2002 by the Government of Alberta using ArcGIS, ranks areas from 0 (lowest) to 1 (highest) to indicate potential contributions to nutrient loading, pathogens, and odour.

Use Cases

• Model potential nutrient loading and pathogen risk using the manure production index value.
• Assess regional odour impact from livestock by analyzing the spatial distribution of index scores.
• Correlate the geospatial index with water quality data to study agricultural non-point source pollution.

Strengths

• Provides a standardized index (0 to 1) for comparative analysis across regions.
• Created by a government authority (Government of Alberta) for Alberta's agricultural area.

Limitations

• Data is based on a 2001 estimate and may not reflect current livestock operations.
• No underlying columnar data (e.g., livestock counts, farm locations) is provided, only the derived index.

Provenance

Source

Government of Alberta

Collection Method

Created using ArcGIS, methodology details unspecified.

Time Range

2001

Freshness

The underlying estimate is from 2001, though the platform record was updated in 2026.

Geography

Agricultural area of Alberta, Canada