The Cropland Data Layer (CDL), hosted on CropScape, provides a raster, geo-referenced, crop-specific land cover map for the continental United States. The CDL also includes a crop mask layer and planting frequency layers, as well as boundary, water and road layers. The Boundary Layer options provided are County, Agricultural Statistics Districts (ASD), State, and Region. The data is created annually using moderate resolution satellite imagery and extensive agricultural ground truth. Users can select a geographic area of interest or import one, then access acreage statistics for a specific year or view the change from one year to another. The data can be exported or added to the CDL. The information is useful for issues related to agricultural sustainability, biodiversity, and land cover monitoring, especially due to extreme weather events. Resources in this dataset:Resource Title: CropScape and Cropland Data Layer - National Download. File Name: Web Page, url: https://www.nass.usda.gov/Research_and_Science/Cropland/Release/index.php Downloads available as zipped files at https://www.nass.usda.gov/Research_and_Science/Cropland/Release/index.php --

National CDL's -- by year, 2008-2020. Cropland Data Layer provides a raster, geo-referenced, crop-specific land cover map for the continental United States. The CDL also includes a crop mask layer and planting frequency layers, as well as boundary, water and road layers. The Boundary Layer options provided are County, Agricultural Statistics Districts (ASD), State, and Region. National Cultivated Layer -- based on the most recent five years (2013-2020). National Frequency Layer -- the 2017 Crop Frequency Layer identifies crop specific planting frequency and are based on land cover information derived from the 2008 through 2020CDL's. There are currently four individual crop frequency data layers that represent four major crops: corn, cotton, soybeans, and wheat. National Confidence Layer -- the Confidence Layer spatially represents the predicted confidence that is associated with that output pixel, based upon the rule(s) that were used to classify it. Western/Eastern/Central U.S.

Visit https://nassgeodata.gmu.edu/CropScape/ for the interactive map including tutorials and basic instructions. These options include a "Demo Video", "Help", "Developer Guide", and "FAQ".

Author: Michael Robinson, educatorGrade/Audience: high school, ap human geography, professional developmentResource type: lessonSubject topic(s): agriculture, economics, developmentRegion: worldStandards: AP Human Geography TOPIC 5.7 Spatial Organization of Agriculture ENDURING UNDERSTANDING PSO-5 Availability of resources and cultural practices influence agricultural practices and land-use patterns.

LEARNING OBJECTIVE PSO-5.C Explain how economic forces influence agricultural practices. ESSENTIAL KNOWLEDGE PSO-5.C.3 Large-scale commercial agricultural operations are replacing small family farms. PSO-5.C.4 Complex commodity chains link production and consumption of agricultural products. PSO-5.C.5 Technology has increased economies of scale in the agricultural sectObjectives: Students will learn about the distribution of resources as related to the product Nutella by reading an article and answering questions related to the production of Nutella.

Students will be able to map the distribution of resources that make up the product Nutella and the manufacturing facitilies related to the production of Nutella.

Students will able to answer questions provided regarding the resources and manufacturing of Nutella. Summary: A mapping activity that shows the resources and manufacturing locations involved in the making of Nutella. There is a short article to read, questions and a map activity.

This lesson was created for use in AP Human Geography.
This lesson can be modified to use in World Geography as well.

The link to this lesson is in the document provided.