The Government of Ontario needed a tool that makes calculating complex scientific calculations about potential greenhouse gas reductions easy for typical farmers to use.
We applied our strategic design process to rapidly create a plain language interface that makes it easy for farmers to describe their plan and immediately get results of the greenhouse gas reduction impact of their plan. Hence, we designed GO-CALC, or the Greenhouse Gas Ontario Covered Agriculture Calculator, which is an online program to help agricultural producers with indoor agriculture and grain dryers to estimate potential greenhouse gas reductions that may be achieved through specific facility upgrades. Scenarios include installation of new or upgraded energy curtains and upgrades to improve permanent cover materials for greenhouses, upgrades to boiler system or heating systems, retrofits to grain dryers for heat reclamation, and installation or upgrades to ventilation heat exchangers.
We delivered every step of the production on time. The reception to this product was excellent and was tested by real users. It works for both mobile and desktop and in both official languages English and French, and is completely free for all farmers.
To use GO-CALC, you must have an email address and access to the internet. In addition, you will need to provide various parameters specific to the facility in question. Currently, we are working on a newer release for broadening of the product.
More about the project: https://www.ontariosoilcrop.org/go-calc/
GO-CALC tutorial video (English): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_DNzWa7iFk