NCCOR Catalogue of Surveillance Systems

At A Glance

Noteworthy Characteristics

Provides accurate data on acreage and crop type for all agricultural areas in the contiguous continental United States. This data may be used to address diet research questions related to food supply and production.
Provides data used to generate agricultural production statistics and forecasts.
Contains non-agricultural land cover data, such as urban infrastructure, forests, grasslands, and wetlands, which may be used in conjunction with the National Land Cover Dataset to inform comparative studies of geographic areas and obesity-related risk factors.

Website

http://nassgeodata.gmu.edu/CropScape/

Purpose

To collect data about crop-specific and non-agricultural land cover in the United States.

Target Population

Farms within the contiguous continental United States.

Conducted

Began in 1997. Conducted annually. Most recent year conducted was 2018.

Sponsor

National Agricultural Statistics Service, USDA. Center for Spatial Information Science and Systems at George Mason University.

Sampling

Sample Design

Not a survey. Census by satellite.

Satellite imagery is collected from sensors maintained by USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service, the U.S. Geological Survey and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Imagery is analyzed using a decision tree-based classifier, using USDA’s Farm Service Agency’s data and the National Land Cover Data dataset from the U.S. Geological Survey.

Sample Size

All states within the contiguous continental United States.

Special Note(s)

Detailed accuracy assessment tables are published within the official metadata files. The primary focus of CropScape is on large-area summer crops (e.g., corn, soybeans). Data on major crop types have been shown to have a classification accuracy of 85% to 95%. Non-agricultural land cover data are less accurate; researchers are encouraged to use the National Land Cover Dataset for studies focused on non-agricultural land cover.