Highlights of the Conference

The Ohio Geospatial Technology Conference for Agriculture and Natural Resources attracted more than 160 attendees on March 24-26, 2003. Nathan Watermeier, OSU Extension Technology Program Leader and conference chair said, "the purpose of the conference was to pull together people in Ohio who have used geospatial technologies and have showed them to be successful in agricultural and natural resource applications." It also provided attendees to network and learn how geospatial technologies can be integrated into their operations.

The conference boasted a comprehensive list of topics including discussions on the use of geospatial technologies on homeland security, two pre-conference workshops on geographic information systems, interactive exhibits and posters, 10 different mini-workshops that teach participants how to apply what they learned, and a CD-ROM of the conference proceedings.

There were various exhibits and posters at the conference. WorldFX (shown here) specializes in geographic mapping, printing, and various scale elevation models.

The general session started off with a keynote address from Dr. Fred Limp, director for the Center for Advanced Spatial Technologies (CAST) from the University of Arkansas. Limp's presentation, "A sense of where you are," addressed the growing role of geospatial technologies in the world. A special Homeland Security Session followed that addressed implications of geospatial technologies for agriculture and natural resource inventory and homeland security measures. Lane Wood, Interim Executive Director, OGRIP and Todd Steward, Director, Program for International and Homeland Security, The Ohio State University resourced this session. More than 24 presentations highlighted the general session involving soil mapping, land-use and watershed management, water quality, forestry, wetlands, riparians, coastal management, vegetation, precision agriculture, inventory and monitoring, ecological habitats and fish and wildlife.

Bob Parkinson, USDA-NRCS, talks about mobile handheld GPS units and computers for field data collection.

An awards luncheon was conducted on the last day. Special recognitions were given to more than 30 individuals on the conference planning committee. Hal Weiland of Bucryus won the GPS giveaway. The Visual Image and Design Competition awarded 1st, 2nd and 3rd places for the categories of GIS, Remote Sensing, Proximal Sensing, and Integrated Geospatial Methods. David Crecelius, Ohio Department of Natural Resources received the Ohio Geospatial Applications Award. This award recognizes someone who contributes to the advancement and development of geospatial applications for agriculture and natural resources in Ohio. Following the luncheon the conference concluded with 10 concurrent mini-workshops addressing topics on data collection, data management, GIS, and remote sensing.

David Crecelius, ODNR, receives the Ohio Geospatial Applications Award.

Sponsors for the geospatial conference include Ohio State University Geospatial Program for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Ohio State College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Ohio State School of Natural Resources, Ohio State University Extension, All Ohio Chapter of Soil and Water Conservation Society, Ohio Geographically Referenced Information Program, Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI), Ohio NASA Space Grant Consortium, Ohio Agricultural Technologies Association, The Ohio State University Watershed Academy and several other Ohio universities, state and federal agencies and industry partners. The conference was held at the Holiday Inn Worthington Convention Center in Columbus, Ohio. Details about the program proceedings and awards can be found at http://geospatial.osu.edu/conference.