NAIP Expands to Cover More States in 2009

The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently announced that the Farm Services Agency (FSA) would allocate the full $24 million available to the 2009 National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP).

NAIP will also attract additional partnership funds from federal and state agencies increasing the expenditure to approximately $30 million. This event reflects well on the efforts of the entire geospatial community to realize Imagery For The Nation (IFTN) as a viable national program, and it signals a new level of cooperative effort between NSGIC and its corporate partners.

The expanded coverage of 32 states -- against the original plan of 15 states -- means that roughly two-thirds of the country will obtain much-needed imagery. This of course will have a very positive impact on the public, and the federal, state and local agencies that use NAIP. Many states are already seeking to procure enhanced products. Efforts are underway to increase and secure additional NAIP funds in the coming years to obtain complete coverage. NSGIC leadership will continue to play a supporting role in these efforts.

"NSGIC applauds USDA leadership for moving forward with additional funding for NAIP and the efforts of the geospatial community to make this happen" said NSGIC President Learon Dalby, of Arkansas. "Building on the recent success with NAIP, NSGIC will continue to advocate for the high resolution leaf-off portion of IFTN. The nation is just beginning to see tangible evidence that our years of work are paying off, but IFTN won’t be a reality until the entire program is funded."

An Update on Imagery for The Nation

Ted Koch, NSGIC's lead on the Imagery for the Nation (IFTN) project, has posted an update on the project on the Wisconsin Mapping Bulletin.

He reports that the National Digital Orthophoto Programs Committee (NDOP) which has been focused on IFTN lately, met in May and continued their work to flesh-out what IFTN will mean:

The NDOP committee will be developing over the next six months a much greater level of detail on technical specifications, and program and management issues. Work on these issues will involve federal, state and local government participation.

He also reports on work on a Cost Benefit Analysis of IFTN funded by the USGS and the USDA

The CBA will compare costs over a 10-year period of the way orthoimagery is currently collected and achieved vs. the potential methods that could be possible under the IFTN proposal. The study will also look at overall risks and benefits to the proposed program.

He notes that the analysis is expected to be published this summer.