USA Cropland

USA Cropland is a time-enabled imagery layer of the USDA Cropland Data Layer dataset from the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). The time series shows the crop grown during every growing season in the conterminous US since 2008. Use the time slider to select only one year to view or analyze. Press play to see each growing season displayed sequentially in an animated map. The USDA is now serving the Cropland Data Layer in their own application called CroplandCros which allows selection and display of a single product or growing season. This application is relatively new and is intended replace their popular CropScape application. Dataset Summary Variable mapped: Crop grown in each pixel since 2008. Data Projection: Albers Mosaic Projection: Albers Extent: Conterminous USA Cell Size: 30m in 2008-2023, 10m in 2024-2025. Source Type: Thematic Visible Scale: All scales are visible Source: USDA NASS Data Vintage: 2/27/2026 Publication Date: 2/27/2026 Why USA Cropland living atlas layer masks out NLCD land cover in its default template USDA Cropland Data Layer, by default as downloaded from USDA, fills in the non-cultivated areas of the conterminous USA with land cover classes from the MRLC National Land Cover Dataset (NLCD). The default behavior for Esri's USA Cropland layer is a little bit different. By default the Esri USA Cropland layer uses the analytic renderer, which masks out this NLCD data. Why did we choose to mask out the NLCD land cover classes by default? While crops are updated every year from USDA NASS, the NLCD data may be a bit older than the crop data beside it. If analysis is conducted to quantify landscape change, the NLCD-derived pixels will skew the results of the analysis because NLCD land cover in a yearly time series may appear to remain the same class for several years in a row. This can be problematic because conclusions drawn from this dataset may underrepresent the amount of change happening to the landscape. To display the most current land cover available from both sources, add both the USA NLCD Land Cover layer or the USA Annual NLCD Land Cover layer and this USA Cropland time series to your map. Use the analytical template with the USA Cropland service, and draw it on top of the NLCD Land Cover. When a time slider is used with these datasets together, the map user will see the most current land cover from both services in any given year. This layer and the data making up the layer are in the Albers map projection. Albers is an equal area projection, and this allows users of this layer to accurately calculate acreage without additional data preparation steps. This also means it takes a tiny bit longer to project on the fly into web Mercator, if that is the destination projection of the layer. Processing templates available with this layer To help filter out and display just the crops and land use categories you are interested in showing, choose one of the thirteen processing templates that will help you tailor the symbols in the time series to suit your map application. The following are the processing templates that are available with this layer: Analytic Renderer USDA Analytic Renderer The analytic renderer is the default template. NLCD codes are masked when using analytic renderer processing templates. There is a default esri analytic renderer, but also an analytic renderer that uses the original USDA color scheme that was developed for the CropScape layers. This is useful if you have already built maps with the USDA color scheme or otherwise prefer the USDA color scheme. Cartographic Renderer USDA Cartographic Renderer These templates fill in with NLCD land cover types where crops are not cultivated, thereby filling the map with color from coast to coast. There is also a template using the USDA color scheme, which is identical to the datasets as downloaded from USDA NASS. In addition to different ways to display the whole dataset, some processing templates are included which help display the top agricultural products in the United States. If these templates seem to include too many crops in their category (for example, tomatoes are included in both the fruit and vegetables templates), this is because it"s easier for a map user to remove a symbol from a template than it is to add one. Corn - Corn, sweet corn, popcorn or ornamental corn, plus double crops with corn and another crop. Cotton - Cotton and double crops, includes double crops with cotton and another crop. Fruit - Symbolized fruit crops include not only things like melons, apricots, and strawberries, but also olives, avocados, and tomatoes. Nuts - Peanuts, tree nuts, sunflower, etc. Oil Crops - Oil crops include rapeseed and canola, soybeans, avocado, peanut, corn, safflower, sunflower, also cotton and grapes. Permanent Crops - Crops that do not need to be replanted after harvest. Includes fruit and nut trees, caneberries, and grapes. Rice - Rice crops. Sugar - Crops grown to make sugars. Sugar beets and cane are displayed of course, but so are corn and grapes. Soybeans - Soybean crops. Includes double crops where soybeans are grown at some time during the growing season. Vegetables - Vegetable crops, and yes this includes tomatoes. Wheat - Winter and spring wheat, durum wheat, triticale, spelt, and wheat double crops. In many places, two crops were grown in one growing season. Keep in mind that a double crop of corn and soybeans will display in both the corn and soybeans processing templates. What can you do with this layer? This layer is suitable for both visualization and analysis acrossthe ArcGIS system. This layer can be combined with your data and other layers from the ArcGIS Living Atlas of the World in ArcGIS Online and ArcGIS Pro to create powerful web maps that can be used alone or in a story map or other application. Read more in our blogs: Eating Locally Using the USA Cropland Layer in the Living Atlas of the World Time Enabled Croplands Reveal the Rhythms of American Agriculture Is Georgia Still the Peach State? Getting Crop Statistics for the USA using ArcGIS Living Atlas Because this layer is part of the ArcGIS Living Atlas of the World it is easy to add to your map: In ArcGIS Online, you can add this layer to a map by selecting Add then Browse Living Atlas Layers. A window will open. Type "USA Cropland" in the search box and browse to the layer. Select the layer then click Add to Map. In ArcGIS Pro, open a map and select Add Data from the Map Tab. Select Data at the top of the drop down menu. The Add Data dialog box will open on the left side of the box, expand Portal if necessary, then select Living Atlas. Type "USA Cropland" in the search box, browse to the layer then click OK. In ArcGIS Pro you can use the built-in raster functions or create your own to create custom extracts of the data. Imagery layers provide fast, powerful inputs to geoprocessing tools, models, or Python scripts in Pro. Online you can filter the layer to show subsets of the data using the filter button and the layer"s built-in raster functions. The ArcGIS Living Atlas of the World provides an easy way to explore many other beautiful and authoritative maps on hundreds of topics like this one. Index to raster values in USA Cropland: Value,Crop 0,Background (not a cultivated crop or no data) 1,Corn 2,Cotton 3,Rice 4,Sorghum 5,Soybeans 6,Sunflower 10,Peanuts 11,Tobacco 12,Sweet Corn 13,Popcorn or Ornamental Corn 14,Mint 21,Barley 22,Durum Wheat 23,Spring Wheat 24,Winter Wheat 25,Other Small Grains 26,Double Crop Winter Wheat/Soybeans 27,Rye 28,Oats 29,Millet 30,Speltz 31,Canola 32,Flaxseed 33,Safflower 34,Rape Seed 35,Mustard 36,Alfalfa 37,Other Hay/Non Alfalfa 38,Camelina 39,Buckwheat 41,Sugarbeets 42,Dry Beans 43,Potatoes 44,Other Crops 45,Sugarcane 46,Sweet Potatoes 47,Miscellaneous Vegetables and Fruits 48,Watermelons 49,Onions 50,Cucumbers 51,Chick Peas 52,Lentils 53,Peas 54,Tomatoes 55,Caneberries 56,Hops 57,Herbs 58,Clover/Wildflowers 59,Sod/Grass Seed 60,Switchgrass 61,Fallow/Idle Cropland 62,Pasture/Grass 63,Forest 64,Shrubland 65,Barren 66,Cherries 67,Peaches 68,Apples 69,Grapes 70,Christmas Trees 71,Other Tree Crops 72,Citrus 74,Pecans 75,Almonds 76,Walnuts 77,Pears 81,Clouds/No Data 82,Developed 83,Water 87,Wetlands 88,Nonagricultural/Undefined 92,Aquaculture 111,Open Water 112,Perennial Ice/Snow 121,Developed/Open Space 122,Developed/Low Intensity 123,Developed/Med Intensity 124,Developed/High Intensity 131,Barren 141,Deciduous Forest 142,Evergreen Forest 143,Mixed Forest 152,Shrubland 176,Grassland/Pasture 190,Woody Wetlands 195,Herbaceous Wetlands 204,Pistachios 205,Triticale 206,Carrots 207,Asparagus 208,Garlic 209,Cantaloupes 210,Prunes 211,Olives 212,Oranges 213,Honeydew Melons 214,Broccoli 215,Avocados 216,Peppers 217,Pomegranates 218,Nectarines 219,Greens 220,Plums 221,Strawberries 222,Squash 223,Apricots 224,Vetch 225,Double Crop Winter Wheat/Corn 226,Double Crop Oats/Corn 227,Lettuce 228,Double Crop Triticale/Corn 229,Pumpkins 230,Double Crop Lettuce/Durum Wheat 231,Double Crop Lettuce/Cantaloupe 232,Double Crop Lettuce/Cotton 233,Double Crop Lettuce/Barley 234,Double Crop Durum Wheat/Sorghum 235,Double Crop Barley/Sorghum 236,Double Crop Winter Wheat/Sorghum 237,Double Crop Barley/Corn 238,Double Crop Winter Wheat/Cotton 239,Double Crop Soybeans/Cotton 240,Double Crop Soybeans/Oats 241,Double Crop Corn/Soybeans 242,Blueberries 243,Cabbage 244,Cauliflower 245,Celery 246,Radishes 247,Turnips 248,Eggplants 249,Gourds 250,Cranberries 254,Double Crop Barley/Soybeans Questions? 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