The United States Department of Agriculture announced on October 24 that Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins and NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman signed a memorandum of cooperation.
The agreement takes effect immediately, with both parties set to collaborate on Earth observation, geospatial analysis, and statistical methods to support agricultural statistics and data modernization.
Collaboration Scope Covers Data Access and Model Validation
The partnership encompasses agricultural statistics, remote sensing science, modeling, geospatial data engineering, and machine learning.
Specific work involves aligning agricultural statistical requirements with NASA satellite observations and model products, researching the scaled use of cloud-based archives and interfaces, and jointly evaluating crop growth indicators, yield models, planted and harvested acreage estimates, and disaster impact assessment methods.
The two sides will also study bias correction, uncertainty quantification, and the use of ground data to validate results.
Existing Crop Databases Form the Technical Foundation
According to NASA, the USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service has already been using Landsat satellite imagery and ground survey data in its annual Crop Land Data Layer to identify the types of crops planted in various locations; these databases can also be used to assess farmland affected by natural disasters and to plan crop rotations.
The new memorandum strengthens coordination on data, missions, and methods on the basis of existing remote sensing use. The announcement did not provide any new procurement amounts or agricultural output increase targets resulting from the agreement.
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