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Agricultural Research Service
The Agricultural Research Service (ARS) is the chief scientific research agency within USDA, responsible for conducting research to develop and transfer solutions to agricultural problems of high national priority. ARS scientists are involved in a broad research program that involves more than 30 laboratories that cooperate extensively with other federal and state agencies in this country and abroad to extend the applications of remote sensing. Their research has resulted in the development of new and cost effective methods to assess agricultural and natural resources at local, regional, and global scales. Remote sensing is used in concert with other techniques to assess the potential economic impacts of management practices on production agriculture, and the ecological and environmental impacts on terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. For further information on ARS remote sensing activities, click on the following link(s):
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Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is responsible for protecting and promoting U.S. agricultural health, administering the Animal Welfare Act, and carrying out wildlife damage management activities. APHIS helps provide the Nation with safe and affordable food by safeguarding resources from exotic invasive pests and diseases, resolving and managing trade issues related to animal or plant health, and ensuring the humane care and treatment of animals. Remote sensing information is used to support the agency mission and strategic goals. For example, APHIS uses remote sensing data and related technologies to help identify and manage invasive species such as Saltcedar and Leafy Spurge, to study the relationship between landscape characteristics and the presence of various viruses, and to respond to emerging health issues in wild animal species, such as rabies in raccoons. For further information on APHIS remote sensing activities, click on the following link(s):
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Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service
The Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES) is the extramural research arm of USDA. CSREES provides primarily financial assistance in the form of grants to conduct high-priority agricultural research and education. Many grants awarded by CSREES use remote sensing data and products to solve complex environmental problems involving issues such as air quality, water quality, and land-use change. For further information on CSREES remote sensing activities, click on the following link(s):
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Economic Research Service
The Economic Research Service (ERS) is the main source of economic information and research from USDA, and is primarily responsible for informing and enhancing public and private decision making on economic and policy issues related to agriculture, food, natural resources, and rural development. ERS personnel develop and distribute a broad range of economic and other social science data and analyses to accomplish this task. These products provide public and private decision makers the information they need to conduct business, formulate policy, and learn about the farm, rural, and food sectors. ERS has used remote sensing data to help facilitate agency research and analysis. For example, ERS has used remote sensing data to quantify domestic and international agricultural efficiency and to track environmental responses to changes in agricultural markets and policies. For further information on ERS remote sensing activities, click on the following link(s):
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Farm Service Agency
The Farm Service Agency (FSA) administers a variety of farm programs which ensure a strong and viable agriculture sector in the United States. These programs help America’s farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural producers cope with weather, volatile markets, and natural disasters; conserve land and water resources; receive farm credits; and provide humanitarian aid to hungry people in the United States and abroad. Because nearly all programs are related to individual farms and tracts of land, the backbone of effective program delivery is the use of GIS fully integrated with up-to-date imagery and digital land and program data. For example, FSA has used remote sensing data to create and maintain the Common Land Unit, a nationally consistent geospatial data set representing farm and field boundaries. For further information on FSA remote sensing activities, click on the following link(s):
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Foreign Agricultural Service
The Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) is responsible for initiating, maintaining, and broadening international market opportunities to sustain the economic stability and global competitiveness of U.S. agriculture. FAS accomplishes these goals by continually monitoring and assessing global food aid requirements, supporting international trade, cooperation, and sustainable development activities, and administering a variety of export promotion, technical, and food assistance programs in cooperation with other organizations. The FAS Production Estimates and Crop Assessment Division uses satellite imagery to monitor crop conditions worldwide, estimate global food supply and demand, and identify potential threats to global food security. Additionally, FAS administers the USDA Imagery Archive. This archive serves as the Department's remote sensing data warehouse, where staff from all agencies within USDA can obtain a wide range of archived remote sensing data. For further information on FAS remote sensing activities, click on the following link(s):
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Forest Service
The Forest Service (FS) provides leadership in the protection, management, and use of the Nation’s forests, rangeland, and aquatic ecosystems. Through implementation of land and resource management plans, the agency provides for the health, productivity, and diversity of the natural resources on our national forests and grasslands. Outcomes include high-quality outdoor recreation opportunities, healthy watersheds that provide clean water, abundant wildlife and fish, and improved rangeland conditions, timber, and mineral resources for current and future generations. Remote sensing is widely used in the FS. Since the late 1940's, aerial photography has been used to routinely assess vegetation, access, mining, recreation, and other land management and natural resources interests. Today, a combination of aerial and satellite imagery is used to meet the needs of operational field personnel, disaster responders, researchers, and others who need timely, cost-effective, and accurate geospatial data. For further information on FS remote sensing activities, click on the following link(s):
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National Agricultural Statistics Service
The National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) provides timely, accurate, and useful statistics describing virtually every facet of U.S. Agriculture. These statistics are obtained through hundreds of annual surveys and the Census of Agriculture, the latter being conducted every five years. Since the 1980's, NASS has used satellite imagery to enhance, but not replace, its program of surveys. Specific NASS remote sensing activities include: Area sampling frame construction, cropland data layer development, and vegetation condition monitoring. For further information on NASS remote sensing activities, click on the following link(s):
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Natural Resources Conservation Service
The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) provides leadership in a partnership effort to help people conserve, maintain, and improve our natural resources and environment. Much of the land management business conducted by NRCS is accomplished using geospatial and remote sensing data and technologies. For 50 years, NRCS used aerial photography to carry out conservation programs; today NRCS does the same with digital orthoimagery, geographic information systems, and global positioning systems. For further information on NRCS remote sensing activities, click on the following link(s):
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Risk Management Agency
The Risk Management Agency (RMA) mission is to promote, support, and regulate sound risk-management solutions to preserve and strengthen the economic stability of America’s agricultural producers. As part of this mission, RMA operates and manages the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation. RMA uses remote sensing data and related technologies to support program compliance and fraud reduction efforts, to assist in the development of new insurance products, and to aid RMA personnel and outside customers working on agency mission-critical projects. For further information on RMA remote sensing activities, click on the following link(s):
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World Agricultural Outlook Board
The World Agricultural Outlook Board (WAOB) is responsible for preparing official government forecasts of agricultural supply and demand for major crop producing countries worldwide. Given the significant impact that weather has on global crop production, the WAOB is also home to the Joint Agricultural Weather Facility (JAWF), a long-standing partnership between the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and USDA, which serves as the primary source for agricultural weather data and information within USDA. JAWF meteorologists use a variety of data to prepare crop weather assessments, including surface weather observations, radar data, and satellite imagery. These assessments are disseminated via the Weekly Weather and Crop Bulletin and are intended to keep senior government officials, commercial entities, and the public informed of weather impacts on domestic and international crop development. For further information on WAOB remote sensing activities, click on the following link(s):
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Last Modified: 03/09/2006 |
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