The Agricultural Research Service’s Remote Sensing Program

Interagency programs have made it possible for scientists from the USDA, Agricultural Research Service (ARS) to conduct remote sensing research with researchers from various federal, state, and private organizations since 1965. Cumulative results from these cooperative studies have established the scientific basis for using remotely acquired imagery to better understand and manage the Earth’s agricultural and natural resources. Examples of these partnerships include the 1965 Statement of Agreement between USDA and NASA that formally began ARS’s remote sensing research, the Large Area Crop Inventory Experiment (LACIE, 1974), the ARS Wheat Yield Project (1976), Agriculture and Resources Inventory Surveys Through Aerospace Remote Sensing (AgRISTARS, 1980), the China Wheat Project (1983), and AG 20/20 (1999). This paper provides a brief overview of these collaborations.