GIS APPLICATIONS FOR THE MISSISSIPPI CROPLAND DATA LAYER, 1999-2006

The USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) conducts a June Agricultural Survey (JAS) across the United States every year. This survey uses field enumerators to visit sample sites called segments. The segment field boundaries, acres, and crops are recorded by the enumerators. This data is uploaded to a NASS GIS software package where field boundaries are digitized to provide ground truth data. This data trains the classifier which examines the set of remote sensing images. Geospatial integration of field and remote sensing data produces a classified Cropland Data Layer (CDL) of the entire state. Starting in 1999, the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce (MDAC), and Mississippi State University (MSU) have cooperated annually with NASS to produce the CDL program for Mississippi. The NASS public domain software programs Peditor and RSP and the ESRI ArcGIS® programs are used for data and image processing. ArcGIS applications for Mississippi agriculture include: Segment Locator Maps, Presentation Maps, Website Crop Coverage Maps, and a map for a processing plant location. ArcGIS maps of Mississippi are used to present agriculture status and conditions in Mississippi over the years 1999-2006. Public access is available via the MDAC and NASS web sites with CD-ROM’s available for order. ArcGIS maps have allowed rapid and effective communication of Mississippi data and farming practices for the public, the NASS and State staff, trade shows, and enterprise presentations.