Media Contact: Janet Allen (202) 690-8122
janet_allen@nass.usda.gov

Technical Contact: Rick Mueller (703) 877-8000 ext. 111
rick_mueller@nass.usda.gov

NEW 2003 CROPLAND DATA LAYER CD-ROM’S AVAILABLE

WASHINGTON, JULY 8, 2004 - The U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) has released categorized satellite images depicting crop patterns in nine states for the years 2002 and 2003. These images, referred to as the Cropland Data Layer (CDL), can be used in geographic information system (GIS) applications, and are published in GeoTIFF format.

CDL CD-ROMs are available for Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Mississippi, Missouri Boot Heel, Nebraska, North Dakota and Wisconsin. Wisconsin became a full CDL state for crop year 2003. When the CDL is used in a GIS and combined with other data layers such as soil, transportation networks, or other ancillary data, they can be helpful in water quality assessments and monitoring of watersheds, soils utilization over large areas, wildlife habitat monitoring, agribusiness transportation routing/forecasting, and crop rotation analysis.

A CD-ROM is available for each state for $35. Historical CDL products cost $25. No individually reported data from any farm is included or derivable from the CD-ROM. This aligns with NASS policy to strictly protect the confidentiality of farmer reported data.

To order, visit the NASS Web site at www.usda.gov/nass/ and click on Statistical Research, then Cropland Data Layer. For additional information, call the Agricultural Statistics Hotline at 1-800-727-9540. NASS confidentiality and security pledges may be accessed from the NASS homepage at www.usda.gov/nass/ by clicking on Agency Information.

Technical Note: The Cropland Data Layer CD-ROM contains categorized Landsat satellite imagery of the major crop producing areas in these states. The images have been geo-registered and mosaicked into a seamless GIS-ready data layer. In addition, the data layer has been bundled into a viewable ArcExplorer project that allows you to browse the Cropland Data Layer without needing additional GIS software or image processing systems.

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Find agricultural statistics for your county, State, and the Nation at www.usda.gov/nass/