Crop Forecasting by Satellite: Progress and Problems

The Department of Agriculture (USDA), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) are trying to improve forecasts of foreign wheat production by using Landsat satellite imagery and weather data. The Large Area Crop Inventory Experiment (LACIE) is designed to determine the usefulness and cost-effectiveness of using Landsat data in conjunction with weather and climate data for forecasts of foreign wheat production.