Quick Stats is the National Agricultural Statistics Service's (NASS) online, self-service tool to access complete results from the 1997, 2002, 2007, and 2012 Censuses of Agriculture as well as the best source of NASS survey published estimates. The census collects data on all commodities produced on U.S. farms and ranches, as well as detailed information on expenses, income, and operator characteristics. The surveys that NASS conducts collect information on virtually every facet of U.S. agricultural production.

The Quick Stats Database is the most comprehensive tool for accessing agricultural data published by the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). It allows you to customize your query by commodity, location, or time period. You can then visualize the data on a map, manipulate and export the results as an output file compatible for updating databases and spreadsheets, or save a link for future use. Quick Stats contains official published aggregate estimates related to U.S. agricultural production. County level data are also available via Quick Stats. The data include the total crops and cropping practices for each county, and breakouts for irrigated and non-irrigated practices for many crops, for selected States. The database allows custom extracts based on commodity, year, and selected counties within a State, or all counties in one or more States. The county data includes totals for the Agricultural Statistics Districts (county groupings) and the State. The download data files contain planted and harvested area, yield per acre and production. NASS develops these estimates from data collected through:

hundreds of sample surveys conducted each year covering virtually every aspect of U.S. agriculture

the Census of Agriculture conducted every five years providing state- and county-level aggregates Resources in this dataset:Resource Title: Quick Stats database. File Name: Web Page, url: https://quickstats.nass.usda.gov/ Dynamic drill-down filtered search by Commodity, Location, and Date range, beginning with Census or Survey data. Filter lists are refreshed based upon user choice allowing the user to fine-tune the search.

The Cropland Data Layer (CDL) is a crop-specific land cover data layer created annually for the continental United States using moderate resolution satellite imagery and extensive agricultural ground truth. The CDL is created by the USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Research and Development Division, Geospatial Information Branch, Spatial Analysis Research Section. For detailed FAQ please visit CropScape and Cropland Data Layers - FAQs. To explore details about the classification accuracies and utility of the data, see state-level omission and commission errors by crop type and year. The asset date is aligned with the calendar year of harvest. For most crops the planted and harvest year are the same. Some exceptions: winter wheat is unique, as it is planted in the prior year. A hay crop like alfalfa could have been planted years prior. For winter wheat the data also have a class called "Double Crop Winter Wheat/Soybeans". Some mid-latitude areas of the US have conditions such that a second crop (usually soybeans) can be planted immediately after the harvest of winter wheat and itself still be harvested within the same year. So for mapping winter wheat areas use both classes (use both values 24 and 26). While the CDL date is aligned with year of harvest, the map itself is more representative of what was planted. In other words, a small percentage of fields on a given year will not be harvested. Some non-agricultural categories are duplicate due to two very different epochs in methodology. The non-ag codes 63-65 and 81-88 are holdovers from the older methodology and will only appear in CDLs from 2007 and earlier. The non-ag codes from 111-195 are from the current methodology which uses the USGS NLCD as non-ag training and will only appear in CDLs 2007 and newer. 2007 was a transition year so there may be both sets of categories in the 2007 national product but will not appear within the same state. Note: The 2024 CDL only has the data band. The cultivated and confidence bands are yet to be released by the provider.

This site provides interactive access to data from NASS, as part of a cooperative effort among USDA, the USDA Regional Pest Management Centers and the NSF Center for Integrated Pest Management (CIPM). All data available have been previously published by NASS and have been consolidated at the state level. Commodity acreages and active ingredient agricultural chemical use (% acres treated, ai/acre/treatment, average number of treatments, ai/acre, total ai used) data are available. All data can be searched by commodity, year, state and active ingredient. For more details on methodology, please see NASS website. Search results can be obtained in web format and as downloadable Excel files. For each individual active ingredient, commodity, year and statistic, dynamic U.S. maps of each use statistic can be generated. Agricultural chemical usage statistic data can also be seen in a graphical format. Currently, this site contains the data from 1990. We will continue to update the database annually. As this site is enhanced, we will also provide means and totals of the statistics over years, states, and commodities. This project is funded by USDA, The Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES), project award No. 2001-34366-10324. Resources in this dataset:Resource Title: Agricultural Chemical Use Program Data. File Name: Web Page, url: https://www.nass.usda.gov/Surveys/Guide_to_NASS_Surveys/Chemical_Use/#data Since 2009, the release of chemical use surveys is available through Quick Stats. The following materials are available for each survey: highlights fact sheet, a methodology paper, and a set of data tables featuring commonly requested information.

Abstract

For more than 150 years, the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, conducted the census of agriculture. However, the 2002 Appropriations Act transferred the responsibility from the Bureau of the Census to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). The 2007 Census of Agriculture for the U.S. Virgin Islands is the second census in the U.S. Virgin Islands conducted by NASS. The census of agriculture is taken to obtain agricultural statistics for each county, State (including territories and protectorates), and the Nation. The first U.S. agricultural census data were collected in 1840 as a part of the sixth decennial census. From 1840 to 1920, an agricultural census was taken as a part of each decennial census. Since 1920, a separate national agricultural census has been taken every 5 years. The 2007 census is the 14th census of agriculture of the U.S. Virgin Islands. The first, taken in 1920, was a special census authorized by the Secretary of Commerce. The next agriculture census was taken in 1930 in conjunction with the decennial census, a practice that continued every 10 years through 1960. The 1964 Census of Agriculture was the first quinquennial (5-year) census to be taken in the U.S. Virgin Islands. In 1976, Congress authorized the census of agriculture to be taken for 1978 and 1982 to adjust the data-reference year to coincide with the 1982 Economic Censuses covering manufacturing, mining, construction, retail trade, wholesale trade, service industries, and selected transportation activities. After 1982, the agriculture census reverted to a 5-year cycle. Data in this publication are for the calendar year 2007, and inventory data reflect what was on hand on December 31, 2007. This is the same reference period used in the 2002 census. Prior to the 2002 census, data was collected in the summer for the previous 12 months, with inventory items counted as what was on hand as of July 1 of the year the data collection was done.

Objectives: The census of agriculture is the leading source of statistics about the U.S. Virgin Islands’s agricultural production and the only source of consistent, comparable data at the island level. Census statistics are used to measure agricultural production and to identify trends in an ever changing agricultural sector. Many local programs use census data as a benchmark for designing and evaluating surveys. Private industry uses census statistics to provide a more effective production and distribution system for the agricultural community.

Geographic coverage

National coverage

Analysis unit

Households

Universe

The statistical unit was a farm, defined as "any place from which USD 500 or more of agricultural products were produced and sold, or normally would had been sold, during the calendar year 2007". According to the census definition, a farm is essentially an operating unit, not an ownership tract. All land operated or managed by one person or partnership represents one farm. In the case of tenants, the land assigned to each tenant is considered a separate farm, even though the landlord may consider the entire landholding to be one unit rather than several separate units.

Kind of data

Census/enumeration data [cen]

Sampling procedure

(a) Method of Enumeration As in the previous censuses of the U.S. Virgin Islands, a direct enumeration procedure was used in the 2007 Census of Agriculture. Enumeration was based on a list of farm operators compiled by the U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Agriculture. This list was compiled with the help of the USDA Farm Services Agency located in St. Croix. The statistics in this report were collected from farm operators beginning in January of 2003. Each enumerator was assigned a list of individuals or farm operations from a master enumeration list. The enumerators contacted persons or operations on their list and completed a census report form for all farm operations. If the person on the list was not operating a farm, the enumerator recorded whether the land had been sold or rented to someone else and was still being used for agriculture. If land was sold or rented out, the enumerator got the name of the new operator and contacted that person to ensure that he or she was included in the census.

(b) Frame The census frame consisted of a list of farm operators compiled by the U.S. Virgin Islands DA. This list was compiled with the help of the USDA Farm Services Agency, located in St. Croix.

(c) Complete and/or sample enumeration methods The census was a complete enumeration of all farm operators registered in the list compiled by the United States of America in the CA 2007.

Mode of data collection

Face-to-face [f2f]

Research instrument

The questionnaire (report form) for the CA 2007 was prepared by NASS, in cooperation with the DA of the U.S. Virgin Islands. Only one questionnaire was used for data collection covering topics on:

• Land owned
• Land use
• Irrigation
• Conservation programs and crop insurance
• Field crops
• Bananas, coffee, pineapples and plantain crops
• Hay and forage crops
• Nursery, Greenhouse, Floriculture, Sod and tree seedlings
• Vegetables and melons
• Hydroponic crops
• Fruit
• Root crops
• Cattle and calves
• Poultry
• Hogs and pigs
• Aquaculture
• Other animals and livestock products
• Value of sales
• Organic agriculture
• Federal and commonwealth agricultural program payments
• Income from farm-related sources
• Production expenses
• Farm labour
• Fertilizer and chemicals applied
• Market value of land and buildings
• Machinery, equipment and buildings
• Practices
• Type of organization
• Operator characteristics

The questionnaire of the 2007 CA covered 12 of the 16 core items' recommended for the WCA 2010 round.

Cleaning operations

DATA PROCESSING The processing of the 2007 Census of Agriculture for the U.S. Virgin Islands was done in St. Croix. Each report form was reviewed and coded prior to data keying. Report forms not meeting the census farm definition were voided. The remaining report forms were examined for clarity and completeness. Reporting errors in units of measures, illegible entries, and misplaced entries were corrected. After all the report forms had been reviewed and coded, the data were keyed and subjected to a thorough computer edit. The edit performed comprehensive checks for consistency and reasonableness, corrected erroneous or inconsistent data, supplied missing data based on similar farms, and assigned farm classification codes necessary for tabulating the data. All substantial changes to the data generated by the computer edits were reviewed and verified by analysts. Inconsistencies identified, but not corrected by the computer, were reviewed, corrected, and keyed to a correction file. The corrected data were then tabulated by the computer and reviewed by analysts. Prior to publication, tabulated totals were reviewed by analysts to identify inconsistencies and potential coverage problems. Comparisons were made with previous census data, as well as other available data. The computer system provided the capability to review up-to-date tallies of all selected data items for various sets of criteria which included, but were not limited to, geographic levels, farm types, and sales levels. Data were examined for each set of criteria and any inconsistencies or potential problems were then researched by examining individual data records contributing to the tabulated total. W hen necessary, data inconsistencies were resolved by making corrections to individual data records.

Sampling error estimates

The accuracy of these tabulated data is determined by the joint effects of the various nonsampling errors. No direct measures of these effects have been obtained; however, precautionary steps were taken in all phases of data collection, processing, and tabulation of the data in an effort to minimize the effects of nonsampling errors.

The USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) Cropland Data Layer (CDL) is an annual raster, geo-referenced, crop-specific land cover data layer produced using satellite imagery and extensive agricultural ground reference data. The program began in 1997 with limited coverage and in 2008 forward expanded coverage to the entire Continental United States. Please note that no farmer reported data are derivable from the Cropland Data Layer.

URL from idinfo/citation in CSDGM metadata.

NASS Data Visualization provides a dynamic web query interface supporting searches by Commodity (e.g. Cotton, Corn, Farms & Land, Grapefruit, Hogs, Oranges, Soybeans, Wheat), Statistic type (automatically refreshed based upon choice of Commodity - e.g. Inventory, Head, Acres Planted, Acres Harvested, Production, Yield) to generate chart, table, and map visualizations by year (2001-2016), as well as a link to download the resulting data in CSV format compatible for updating databases and spreadsheets. Resources in this dataset:Resource Title: NASS Data Visualization web site. File Name: Web Page, url: https://nass.usda.gov/Data_Visualization/index.php Query interface with visualization of results as charts, tables, and maps.

The Census of Agriculture provides a detailed picture every five years of U.S. farms and ranches and the people who operate them. Conducted by USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service, the 2012 Census of Agriculture collected more than six million data items directly from farmers. The Ag Census Web Maps application makes this information available at the county level through a few clicks. The maps and accompanying data help users visualize, download, and analyze Census of Agriculture data in a geospatial context.

This file contains data on race, ethnicity, and gender of U.S. farm and ranch operators collected by the 2007 Census of Agriculture.

The Census of Agriculture, produced by the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (USDA), provides a complete count of America's farms, ranches and the people who grow our food. The census is conducted every five years, most recently in 2017, and provides an in-depth look at the agricultural industry.This layer summarizes soybean production from the 2017 Census of Agriculture at the county level.This layer was produced from data downloaded using the USDA's QuickStats Application. The data was transformed using the Pivot Table tool in ArcGIS Pro and joined to the county boundary file provided by the USDA. The layer was published as feature layer in ArcGIS Online. Dataset SummaryPhenomenon Mapped: 2017 Soybean ProductionCoordinate System: Web Mercator Auxiliary SphereExtent: 48 Contiguous United States and HawaiiVisible Scale: All ScalesSource: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service QuickStats ApplicationPublication Date: 2017AttributesThis layer provides values for the following attributes. Note that some values are not disclosed (coded as -1 in the layer) to protect the privacy of producers in areas with limited production.Area Harvested in AcresOperations with Area HarvestedOperations with SalesProduction in BushelsSales in US DollarsIrrigated Area Harvested in AcresOperations with Irrigated Area HarvestedAdditionally attributes of State Name, State Code, County Name and County Code are included to facilitate cartography and use with other layers.What can you do with this layer?This layer can be used throughout the ArcGIS system. Feature layers can be used just like any other vector layer. You can use feature layers as an input to geoprocessing tools in ArcGIS Pro or in Analysis in ArcGIS Online. Combine the layer with others in a map and set custom symbology or create a pop-up tailored for your users.For the details of working with feature layers the help documentation for ArcGIS Pro or the help documentation for ArcGIS Online are great places to start. The ArcGIS Blog is a great source of ideas for things you can do with feature layers.This layer is part of ArcGIS Living Atlas of the World that provides an easy way to find and explore many other beautiful and authoritative layers, maps, and applications on hundreds of topics.

The USDA, NASS Cropland Data Layer (CDL) is a raster, geo-referenced, crop-specific land cover data layer. The 2009 CDL has a ground resolution of 56 meters. The CDL is produced using satellite imagery from the Landsat 5 TM sensor, Landsat 7 ETM+ sensor, and the Indian Remote Sensing RESOURCESAT-1 (IRS-P6) Advanced Wide Field Sensor (AWiFS) collected during the current growing season. Some CDL states used additional satellite imagery and ancillary inputs to supplement and improve the classification. These additional sources can include the United States Geological Survey (USGS) National Elevation Dataset (NED), the USGS National Land Cover Database 2001 (NLCD 2001), and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) 250 meter 16 day Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) composites. Agricultural training and validation data are derived from the Farm Service Agency (FSA) Common Land Unit (CLU) Program. The NLCD 2001 is used as non-agricultural training and validation data. Please refer to the 'Supplemental_Information' Section of this metadata file for a complete list of all imagery, ancillary data, and training/validation data used to generate this state's CDL. The strength and emphasis of the CDL is agricultural land cover. Please note that no farmer reported data are derivable from the Cropland Data Layer.

The Census of Agriculture is a complete count of U.S. farms and ranches and the people who operate them. Even small plots of land - whether rural or urban - growing fruit, vegetables or some food animals count if $1,000 or more of such products were raised and sold, or normally would have been sold, during the Census year. The Census of Agriculture, taken only once every five years, looks at land use and ownership, operator characteristics, production practices, income and expenditures. For America's farmers and ranchers, the Census of Agriculture is their voice, their future, and their opportunity. The Census Data Query Tool (CDQT) is a web-based tool that is available to access and download table level data from the Census of Agriculture Volume 1 publication. The data found via the CDQT may also be accessed in the NASS Quick Stats database. The CDQT is unique in that it automatically displays data from the past five Census of Agriculture publications. The CDQT is presented as a "2017 centric" view of the Census of Agriculture data. All data series that are present in the 2017 dataset are available within the CDQT, and any matching data series from prior Census years will also display (back to 1997). If a data series is not included in the 2017 dataset, then data cells will remain blank in the tool. For example, one of the data series had a label change from "Operator" to "Producer." This means that data from prior Census years labelled "Operator" will not show up where the label has changed to “Producer” for 2017. The new Census Data Query Tool application can be used to query Census data from 1997 through 2017. Data are searchable by Census table and are downloadable as CSV or PDF files. 2017 Census Ag Atlas Maps are also available for download. Resources in this dataset:Resource Title: 2017 Census of Agriculture - Census Data Query Tool (CDQT). File Name: Web Page, url: https://www.nass.usda.gov/Quick_Stats/CDQT/chapter/1/table/1 The Census Data Query Tool (CDQT) is a web based tool that is available to access and download table level data from the Census of Agriculture Volume 1 publication. The data found via the CDQT may also be accessed in the NASS Quick Stats database. The CDQT is unique in that it automatically displays data from the past five Census of Agriculture publications. The CDQT is presented as a "2017 centric" view of the Census of Agriculture data. All data series that are present in the 2017 dataset are available within the CDQT, and any matching data series from prior Census years will also display (back to 1997). If a data series is not included in the 2017 dataset, then data cells will remain blank in the tool. For example, one of the data series had a label change from "Operator" to "Producer." This means that data from prior Census years labelled "Operator" will not show up where the label has changed to "Producer" for 2017. Using CDQT:

Upon entering the CDQT, a data table is present. Changing the parameters at the top of the data table will retrieve different combinations of Census Chapter, Table, State, or County (when selecting Chapter 2). For the U.S., Volume 1, US/State Chapter 1 will include only U.S. data; Chapter 2 will include U.S. and State level data. For a State, Volume 1 US/State Level Data Chapter 1 will include only the State level data; Chapter 2 will include the State and county level data. Once a selection is made, press the “Update Grid” button to retrieve the new data table. Comma-separated values (CSV) download, compatible with most spreadsheet and database applications: to download a CSV file of the data as it is currently presented in the data grid, press the "CSV" button in the "Export Data" section of the toolbar. When CSV is chosen, data will be downloaded as numeric. To view the source PDF file for the data table, press the "View PDF" button in the toolbar.

description: This data set portrays the National Agricultural Statistics Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture's 1997 Census data for the United States, presented by county. There are 25 categories of data which include information about farms, crops, livestock, values of products, and farm operator characteristics.; abstract: This data set portrays the National Agricultural Statistics Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture's 1997 Census data for the United States, presented by county. There are 25 categories of data which include information about farms, crops, livestock, values of products, and farm operator characteristics.

description: The following is excerpted from the metadata provided by NASS (USDA) for the source data set CDL_2011_CLIP_20131230093625_434373848.tif: "The USDA, NASS Cropland Data Layer (CDL) is a raster, geo-referenced, crop-specific land cover data layer. The 2011 CDL has a ground resolution of 30 meters. The CDL is produced using satellite imagery from the Landsat 5 TM sensor, Landsat 7 ETM+ sensor, and the Indian Remote Sensing RESOURCESAT-1 (IRS-P6) Advanced Wide Field Sensor (AWiFS) collected during the current growing season. "Some CDL states used additional satellite imagery and ancillary inputs to supplement and improve the classification. These additional sources can include the United States Geological Survey (USGS) National Elevation Dataset (NED), the USGS National Land Cover Database 2006 (NLCD 2006), and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) 250 meter 16 day Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) composites. "Agricultural training and validation data are derived from the Farm Service Agency (FSA) Common Land Unit (CLU) Program. The NLCD 2006 is used as non-agricultural training and validation data. Please refer to the 'Supplemental_Information' Section of this metadata file for a complete list of all imagery, ancillary data, and training/validation data used to generate this state's CDL. The strength and emphasis of the CDL is agricultural land cover. Please note that no farmer reported data are derivable from the Cropland Data Layer."; abstract: The following is excerpted from the metadata provided by NASS (USDA) for the source data set CDL_2011_CLIP_20131230093625_434373848.tif: "The USDA, NASS Cropland Data Layer (CDL) is a raster, geo-referenced, crop-specific land cover data layer. The 2011 CDL has a ground resolution of 30 meters. The CDL is produced using satellite imagery from the Landsat 5 TM sensor, Landsat 7 ETM+ sensor, and the Indian Remote Sensing RESOURCESAT-1 (IRS-P6) Advanced Wide Field Sensor (AWiFS) collected during the current growing season. "Some CDL states used additional satellite imagery and ancillary inputs to supplement and improve the classification. These additional sources can include the United States Geological Survey (USGS) National Elevation Dataset (NED), the USGS National Land Cover Database 2006 (NLCD 2006), and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) 250 meter 16 day Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) composites. "Agricultural training and validation data are derived from the Farm Service Agency (FSA) Common Land Unit (CLU) Program. The NLCD 2006 is used as non-agricultural training and validation data. Please refer to the 'Supplemental_Information' Section of this metadata file for a complete list of all imagery, ancillary data, and training/validation data used to generate this state's CDL. The strength and emphasis of the CDL is agricultural land cover. Please note that no farmer reported data are derivable from the Cropland Data Layer."

The Census of Agriculture, produced by the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (USDA), provides a complete count of America's farms, ranches and the people who grow our food. The census is conducted every five years, most recently in 2017, and provides an in-depth look at the agricultural industry.This layer summarizes dairy production from the 2017 Census of Agriculture at the county level.This layer was produced from data downloaded using the USDA's QuickStats Application. The data was transformed using the Pivot Table tool in ArcGIS Pro and joined to the county boundary file provided by the USDA. The layer was published as feature layer in ArcGIS Online. Dataset SummaryPhenomenon Mapped: 2017 Dairy ProductionCoordinate System: Web Mercator Auxiliary SphereExtent: 48 Contiguous United States, Alaska, and HawaiiVisible Scale: All ScalesSource: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service QuickStats ApplicationPublication Date: 2017AttributesThis layer provides values for the following attributes. Note that some values are not disclosed (coded as -1 in the layer) to protect the privacy of producers in areas with limited production.Cattle - Operations with SalesCattle - Sales in US DollarsCattle - Sales in HeadDairy - Operations with SalesDairy - Sales in US DollarsAdditionally attributes of State Name, State Code, County Name and County Code are included to facilitate cartography and use with other layers.What can you do with this layer?This layer can be used throughout the ArcGIS system. Feature layers can be used just like any other vector layer. You can use feature layers as an input to geoprocessing tools in ArcGIS Pro or in Analysis in ArcGIS Online. Combine the layer with others in a map and set custom symbology or create a pop-up tailored for your users.For the details of working with feature layers the help documentation for ArcGIS Pro or the help documentation for ArcGIS Online are great places to start. The ArcGIS Blog is a great source of ideas for things you can do with feature layers.This layer is part of ArcGIS Living Atlas of the World that provides an easy way to find and explore many other beautiful and authoritative layers, maps, and applications on hundreds of topics.

United States agricultural researchers have many options for making their data available online. This dataset aggregates the primary sources of ag-related data and determines where researchers are likely to deposit their agricultural data. These data serve as both a current landscape analysis and also as a baseline for future studies of ag research data.

Purpose

As sources of agricultural data become more numerous and disparate, and collaboration and open data become more expected if not required, this research provides a landscape inventory of online sources of open agricultural data.

An inventory of current agricultural data sharing options will help assess how the Ag Data Commons, a platform for USDA-funded data cataloging and publication, can best support data-intensive and multi-disciplinary research. It will also help agricultural librarians assist their researchers in data management and publication. The goals of this study were to

• establish where agricultural researchers in the United States-- land grant and USDA researchers, primarily ARS, NRCS, USFS and other agencies -- currently publish their data, including general research data repositories, domain-specific databases, and the top journals
• compare how much data is in institutional vs. domain-specific vs. federal platforms
• determine which repositories are recommended by top journals that require or recommend the publication of supporting data
• ascertain where researchers not affiliated with funding or initiatives possessing a designated open data repository can publish data

Approach

The National Agricultural Library team focused on Agricultural Research Service (ARS), Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), and United States Forest Service (USFS) style research data, rather than ag economics, statistics, and social sciences data. To find domain-specific, general, institutional, and federal agency repositories and databases that are open to US research submissions and have some amount of ag data, resources including re3data, libguides, and ARS lists were analysed. Primarily environmental or public health databases were not included, but places where ag grantees would publish data were considered.

Search methods

We first compiled a list of known domain specific USDA / ARS datasets / databases that are represented in the Ag Data Commons, including ARS Image Gallery, ARS Nutrition Databases (sub-components), SoyBase, PeanutBase, National Fungus Collection, i5K Workspace @ NAL, and GRIN. We then searched using search engines such as Bing and Google for non-USDA / federal ag databases, using Boolean variations of “agricultural data” /“ag data” / “scientific data” + NOT + USDA (to filter out the federal / USDA results). Most of these results were domain specific, though some contained a mix of data subjects.

We then used search engines such as Bing and Google to find top agricultural university repositories using variations of “agriculture”, “ag data” and “university” to find schools with agriculture programs. Using that list of universities, we searched each university web site to see if their institution had a repository for their unique, independent research data if not apparent in the initial web browser search. We found both ag specific university repositories and general university repositories that housed a portion of agricultural data. Ag specific university repositories are included in the list of domain-specific repositories. Results included Columbia University – International Research Institute for Climate and Society, UC Davis – Cover Crops Database, etc. If a general university repository existed, we determined whether that repository could filter to include only data results after our chosen ag search terms were applied. General university databases that contain ag data included Colorado State University Digital Collections, University of Michigan ICPSR (Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research), and University of Minnesota DRUM (Digital Repository of the University of Minnesota). We then split out NCBI (National Center for Biotechnology Information) repositories.

Next we searched the internet for open general data repositories using a variety of search engines, and repositories containing a mix of data, journals, books, and other types of records were tested to determine whether that repository could filter for data results after search terms were applied. General subject data repositories include Figshare, Open Science Framework, PANGEA, Protein Data Bank, and Zenodo.

Finally, we compared scholarly journal suggestions for data repositories against our list to fill in any missing repositories that might contain agricultural data. Extensive lists of journals were compiled, in which USDA published in 2012 and 2016, combining search results in ARIS, Scopus, and the Forest Service's TreeSearch, plus the USDA web sites Economic Research Service (ERS), National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Natural Resources and Conservation Service (NRCS), Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), Rural Development (RD), and Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS). The top 50 journals' author instructions were consulted to see if they (a) ask or require submitters to provide supplemental data, or (b) require submitters to submit data to open repositories.

Data are provided for Journals based on a 2012 and 2016 study of where USDA employees publish their research studies, ranked by number of articles, including 2015/2016 Impact Factor, Author guidelines, Supplemental Data?, Supplemental Data reviewed?, Open Data (Supplemental or in Repository) Required? and Recommended data repositories, as provided in the online author guidelines for each the top 50 journals.

Evaluation

We ran a series of searches on all resulting general subject databases with the designated search terms. From the results, we noted the total number of datasets in the repository, type of resource searched (datasets, data, images, components, etc.), percentage of the total database that each term comprised, any dataset with a search term that comprised at least 1% and 5% of the total collection, and any search term that returned greater than 100 and greater than 500 results.

We compared domain-specific databases and repositories based on parent organization, type of institution, and whether data submissions were dependent on conditions such as funding or affiliation of some kind.

Results

A summary of the major findings from our data review:

• Over half of the top 50 ag-related journals from our profile require or encourage open data for their published authors.
• There are few general repositories that are both large AND contain a significant portion of ag data in their collection. GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility), ICPSR, and ORNL DAAC were among those that had over 500 datasets returned with at least one ag search term and had that result comprise at least 5% of the total collection.
• Not even one quarter of the domain-specific repositories and datasets reviewed allow open submission by any researcher regardless of funding or affiliation.

VegScape is a geospatial data service which offers automated updates of vegetative condition at daily, weekly, and biweekly intervals. VegScape delivers interactive vegetation indices that enable quantification of U.S. crop conditions for exploring, visualizing, querying, and disseminating via interactive maps.

The USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) releases the annual Cropland Data Layer (CDL) via the NASS CropScape geospatial portal. The CDL product depicts agricultural land cover over the Continental United States at 30 meters resolution. CropScape includes historical data dating back to 1997 for some locales. The CDL is an annual raster, geo-referenced, crop-specific land cover data layer produced using satellite imagery and extensive agricultural ground truth collected during the current growing season. The strength and emphasis of CropScape and the CDL is agricultural land cover. Please note that no farmer reported data are derivable from CropScape or the Cropland Data Layer.Please reference CropScape (https://nassgeodata.gmu.edu/CropScape/) or the official CDL website (https://www.nass.usda.gov/Research_and_Science/Cropland/SARS1a.php) for a list of the available states and years of data and the individual metadata files that contain the technical details. NASS developed both the CropScape and VegScape web services in cooperation with the Center for Spatial Information Science and Systems, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA. Metadata, Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), and the most current year of data is available free for download at the official website: https://www.nass.usda.gov/Research_and_Science/Cropland/Release/index.php

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) area sampling frame is a delineation of all parcels of land for the purpose of later sampling the parcels. The area frame is constructed by visually interpreting satellite imagery to divide a state into homogenous land use areas (strata) based on percent cultivated. The strata are typically defined as low, medium or high percent cultivated, non-agricultural land, urban use, agri-urban, or water. The boundaries of the strata usually follow identifiable features such as roads, railroads and waterways. The strata boundaries do not coincide with any political boundaries, with the exception of state boundaries. This site provides links to download ESRI shape and symbology layer files, as well as low resolution JPEG or higher resolution PDF images for each state. Also included in the FAQ are how to cite the data set, time period, how geographic features are represented and described, originators and contributors, contacts to address questions about the data, how the data set was created (previous works, e.g. USGS topographic quadrangles, US Census Bureau, space imagery, etc.), data generation-, processing-, and modification methods, and similar or related data. Applicable legal restrictions on access or use of the data and disclaimers are provided. Resources in this dataset:Resource Title: Land Use Strata - Selected States. File Name: Web Page, url: https://www.nass.usda.gov/Research_and_Science/stratafront2b.php This site provides links to download ESRI shape and symbology layer files, as well as low resolution JPEG or higher resolution PDF images for each state.