Best Practices for Mission Applications

Identifying Native Sod Using Remote Sensing

—Nathan Pugh, USDA-FSA-Aerial Photography Field Office

The United States Department of Agriculture's Farm Service Agency's Native Sod project inquired about identifying areas of native grass or vegetation which have been recently broken out and placed into agricultural production. The project sought the use of GIS and Remote Sensing to accomplish this purpose. Various software packages, processes and workflows were investigated to determine the appropriate course of action for the Native Sod Project with regards to time and accuracy constraints. An implementation of a series of Remote Sensing feature classifications, extractions and filters proved to be the most effective solution. A completed labor stream developed from these assessments, meeting the time, precision, and elements required by the Farm Service Agency, may be put into future use in agency operations.