In this Almond Update, we conclude our three part series on the new almond mapping project. For the past two years, Almond Board of California (ABC), through a partnership with Sacramento-based agricultural and environmental consulting firm Land IQ, has been developing a spatial database of almond acreage in California. Joel Kimmelshue with Land IQ explains how this data is and can be used.
Listen to Kimmelshue’s comments: spatial-mapping-data
From the Almond Board:
For the past two years, Almond Board of California (ABC), through a partnership with Sacramento-based agricultural and environmental consulting firm Land IQ, has been developing a spatial database of almond acreage in California and performing analyses based on the data that has been, and is being, generated. When the current work is finished, ABC will possess spatially determined almond acreage data and mapping for four points in time: 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016. This cumulative data will be descriptive of how and where the almond industry’s acreage has grown over the past six years, with a very high confidence level as to the information’s accuracy. That accuracy is ensured by combining publicly available spatial imagery with extensive on-the-ground verification, or ground-truthing, to produce mapping products that are, in the case of the 2014 almond acreage mapping, 96.8% accurate.
This data will be used by the National Agricultural Statistical Service (NASS) to support the acreage surveys and serve as a complimentary almond industry resource. The NASS acreage report, subjective and objective crop reports will continue to be the official statistics for the industry.
Having accurate mapping and associated data for California almond acreage is fundamental to accurate analyses and conclusions for the future of the almond industry. Probably the best example of analytical opportunities is the ability to overlay the acreage maps with other mapping layers that can then make understanding problems and opportunities more intellectually viable and quantifiable. One such analysis has determined where the more permeable soils exist within our agricultural footprint to understand where groundwater recharge research and potential application are best suited.