NASA Previews New Mission to Track Water in Earth's Soil - YouTube

NASA held a media briefing on Thursday, Jan. 8, at NASA Headquarters in Washington DC to discuss the upcoming Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) mission. SMAP, set for a Jan. 29 launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, will provide the most accurate, highest-resolution global measurements of soil moisture ever obtained from space and will detect whether the ground is frozen or thawed. The data will be used to enhance scientists' understanding of the processes that link Earth's water, energy and carbon cycles.

The briefing participants were:
-- Christine Bonniksen, SMAP program executive with the Science Mission Directorate’s Earth Science Division at NASA Headquarters in Washington
-- Kent Kellogg, SMAP project manager with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California
-- Dara Entekhabi, SMAP science team lead, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts
-- Brad Doorn, SMAP applications lead, Science Mission Directorate’s Applied Sciences Program at NASA Headquarters

SMAP is the last of five NASA Earth science missions scheduled for launch within a 12-month period. NASA monitors Earth's vital signs from land, air and space with a fleet of satellites and ambitious airborne and ground-based observation campaigns. NASA develops new ways to observe and study Earth's interconnected natural systems with long-term data records and computer analysis tools to better see how our planet is changing.

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NASA Previews New Mission to Track Water in Earth's Soil - YouTube

The Essentials of Food and Agriculture - in Charts and Maps

USDA Blog Post:

Posted by Dr. Catherine Woteki, USDA’s Chief Scientist and Under Secretary for Research, Education and Economics, on September 17, 2013 at 5:05 PM

This is one of more than 75 charts and maps in Ag and Food Statistics: Charting the Essentials from USDA’s Economic Research Service, compiling a set of key statistics on the ag and food sectors and the rural economy. Each chart in the collection includes accompanying text.

This post is part of the Science Tuesday feature series on the USDA blog. Check back each week as we showcase stories and news from USDA’s rich science and research portfolio.

With the abundance of news and information on the food and agriculture sector, sometimes it is helpful to take a step back and look at the big picture. You might be a seasoned expert on food, agriculture, or the rural economy, or you may have just a general knowledge. In any case, there are a number of key indicators that will bring you up to speed on a range of basic questions.

How much, for example, do agriculture and related industries contribute to the U.S. economy? Which commodities are our main agricultural exports? What share of their household incomes do Americans spend on food? How do job earnings in rural areas compare with metro areas? How much of our Nation’s water does agriculture consume?

In a new online product, USDA’s Economic Research Service tells the basic story in numbers. Ag and Food Statistics: Charting the Essentials assembles more than 75 charts and maps, each with accompanying text, and conveniently organized into nine topics. You’ll find statistics on agricultural markets and trade, farm income, food prices and consumption, food security, rural economies, agriculture’s interaction with natural resources, and its role in the general economy.

Whether you’re a researcher, public official, educator, student, or journalist, I think you’ll find the Essentials informative and useful – in presentations, reports, research, classrooms, and in other endeavors.

The Essentials are at www.ers.usda.gov/essentials.

This is one of more than 75 charts and maps in Ag and Food Statistics: Charting the Essentials from USDA’s Economic Research Service, compiling a set of key statistics on the ag and food sectors and the rural economy. Each chart in the collection includes accompanying text.

Appeal of Diverse Side of Ag Statistics

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USDA Blog Post:

Posted by Troy Joshua, National Agricultural Statistics Service, on August 27, 2013 at 9:40 AM

Troy Joshua (left) visited Matty Matarazzo’s (right) farm. Matarazzo owns and operates the Four Sisters Winery in Belvidere, N.J.

This post is part of the Science Today feature series on the USDA blog. Check back each week as we showcase stories and news from USDA’s rich science and research portfolio.

2013 is the International Year of Statistics. As part of this global event, every month this year USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service will profile careers of individuals who are making significant contributions to improve agricultural statistics in the United States.

Growing up in the rural community of St. James, Louisiana, I always had a passion for agriculture. In 1992, I earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Agricultural Business from Southern University A&M College in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and earned a Master of Science degree in Agricultural Economics from Washington State University two years later.

For my master’s thesis, I created an economic model analyzing the profitability of the Washington state asparagus industry. To get the data for my thesis, I created and mailed questionnaires, editing and analyzing all of the responses. This experience sparked my interest in the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), and I joined the agency’s California Field Office in 1994.

The California office opened up new horizons for me. Growing up in Louisiana, I was used to what we call “conventional” farming. But California agriculture is much more diverse, giving me a chance to learn about different crops, such as grapes, almonds, and oranges. That was just the beginning of my NASS career. I expanded my knowledge of American agriculture, accepting assignments over the next few decades in Mississippi, Washington, D.C. and New Jersey offices.

These experiences also honed my statistical skills and prepared me for my current role as the chief of the Environmental, Economics, and Demographics Branch. Diversity is truly the nature of my branch. We publish all of the agency’s data on farmer demographics, farm income, prices, labor, as well as on pesticide and herbicide use in agriculture. Just a few weeks ago, for example, we published updates to farm expenditures figures, which showed that producers’ expenditures topped $350 billion for the first time in history.

It is the diversity of statistics that appeals the most to me about my current role. One day I may meet with farmers who talk to me about their increases in farm inputs as compared to the value of their crops sold. The next day, I may handle one of our frequent requests from university professors looking for farmer demographics data for the U.S. and specific regions. To me, that’s the true beauty of statistics – the fact that these numbers touch every facet of our lives.