For the first time, categorized satellite images depicting agricultural practices for the 2002 crop year in the Mid-Atlantic region are available from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). The images, provided on DVD, are referred to as the Mid-Atlantic Cropland Data Layer (CDL). When used in geographic information system (GIS) applications and combined with other data layers such as soil or transportation networks, they provide a useful tool for analyzing watersheds, large area soil utilizations and crop rotations.

The Mid-Atlantic CDL covers Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia and West Virginia. The CDL combines on-the-ground information from NASS’s 2002 June Agricultural Survey and 2002 Agricultural Evaluation Survey with data from the 2002 Census of Agriculture, giving users the ability to map major crops, double cropping practices and pasture and grassland. Information on individual farm operations is strictly confidential and therefore not included or derivable from the DVD.

The Mid-Atlantic CDL project is a joint effort of NASS and the Towson University Center for Geographic Information Sciences. It encompasses 80 total Landsat 5 TM and Landsat 7 ETM+ scenes at 30 meters resolution. The images are published in GeoTIFF format.

The 2002 Mid-Atlantic CDL DVD is available for $50. To order, or to learn more about this and other CDL products, visit http://www.nass.usda.gov/research/Cropland/SARS1a.htm or call the Agricultural Statistics Hotline at (800) 727-9540.