National Spatial Data Programs of the Farm Service Agency

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)-Farm Service Agency Aerial Photography Field Office

A Common Land Unit (CLU) is the smallest unit of agricultural or rangeland that can be enrolled in a farm program that the USDA administers. Characteristics of a CLU are a permanent, contiguous boundary; common land cover and land management; and common owner or a common producer.

CLU boundaries are delineated from relatively permanent features such as fence lines, roads, and waterways. CLUs must be certified as “up to date” by each county before being aggregated into a national dataset (only certified CLUs were included in these maps and subsequent percentages shown). Each county updates the CLU dataset as needed when land is enrolled or unenrolled in a farm program.

Producers or landowners may obtain CLU line work and attribution for their own land. CLU data is not releasable to the general public. It is restricted to internal use as established by the 2008 Farm Bill to support USDA program administration.

The National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP), started in 2003, annually acquires aerial imagery during the agricultural growing seasons in the contiguous United States. A primary goal of NAIP is to enable availability of digital orthophotography within a year of acquisition. Currently, NAIP obtains imagery for each state on a two-year cycle (funding dependent). CLU agricultural lands are the first priority of NAIP coverage followed by funding partner lands and full individual state coverage.

NAIP is used in USDA County Service Centers in order to maintain CLU boundaries and assist with program compliance and a multitude of other program support activities.

Courtesy of USDA-FSA-APFO, 2009.

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