• The “People’s” Department– 1862, founded by President Abraham Lincoln
• USDA Represents:– 16 Agencies– 7 Mission Areas– 67 USDA Advisory Committees
• Honorable Ed Schafer, 29th Secretary of USDA– USDA Agency personnel in every county of the U.S. &
Territories– Approximate annual budget - $95 Billion
Mission Areas
• Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services– Farm Service Agency– Foreign Agricultural Service– Risk Management Agency
• Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services– Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion– Food and Nutrition Service
• Food Safety– Food Safety and Inspection Service
Mission Areas
• Marketing and Regulatory Programs– Agricultural Marketing Service– Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service– Grain Inspection, Packers, and Stockyards
Administration
• Natural Resources and Environment– Forest Service– Natural Resources Conservation Service
Mission Areas
• Research, Education and Economics– Research, Education, and Economics– Agricultural Research Service– Cooperative State Research, Education, and
Extension Service– Economic Research Service– National Agricultural library– National Agricultural Statistics Service
USDA is the Newest Member of National Space-Based PNT Executive Committee
Deputy Secretary Chuck Conner
Conservation Planning and Application
• Working with farmers and ranchers to develop conservation plans, participate in programs and apply conservation practices.
Using the USDA GPS Configuration 1 System; GPS and NDGPS
Landscape Mapping
• Soil scientists use GPS and digital imagery along with traditional information to identify locations, map soils, conduct updates, and to delineate associations.
Using the USDA GPS Configuration 1 System; GPS and NDGPS
Inventory and Monitoring
• The National Resources Inventory Program conducts annual inventories on the condition and trends of the nations resources on non-Federal lands.
Various types of GPS equipment depending on the application
High Accuracy GPS
• High Accuracy GPS is used where vertical solutions have to be less than 10 centimeters and involve a base station and rover units.
GPS data is collected with Dual -Frequency GPS equipment and the observations are resolved using OPUS
Wildland Fire Management
• Wildland fire occurrence is inevitable in all North American ecosystems. The Forest Service uses GPS technology for protecting people and sustaining resources
Various types of GPS equipment depending on the application
Forest Management
• The U.S. Forest Service manages public land in National Forests and grasslands which encompass 195 million acres
Various types of GPS equipment depending on the application
Precision Agriculture
• USDA supports the use of precision agriculture; managing production and conservation of natural resources by the square foot.
USDA conducts research and works with the Ag Industry and GPS Industry to further development
Department of Agriculture Applications
• Safety-of-Life operations –Fire, Snow Survey • Administration of the Farm Bill• Conservation Planning and Application• Natural and Cultural Resource Data Collection, Inventorying and Monitoring• Landscape Characterization & Engineering Applications• Soil Mapping
10,000+ USDA personnel on the landscape every day, using GPS to provide program assistance, service, and technical support to USDA customers and
partners
• GPS and GPS Augmentations are used by thousands of USDA personnel everyday to meet Agency missions and to provide products and services to partners and customers.
• The future of GPS and Augmentations directly impact the operations of USDA and ultimately the people we serve.
• USDA supports GPS Modernization and the implementation of additional civil signals.
• USDA supports the advancement of GPS augmentations, especially protecting and enhancing the Nationwide Differential GPS (NDGPS).
