"Agricultural data are valuable for analysis, and thanks to the Census
of Agriculture and other surveys, NASS has plenty of data available. As
a cartographer, however, I obviously prefer to present the data in map
form. A map gives anyone a chance to visualize data for multiple
geographic areas as a cohesive image, providing a graphic overview of
the agricultural phenomena. It also allows map readers to visually
compare regions, and discern patterns and relationships in the data
across regions, topics, and time.
When it came to the ag census, for each of the past eight editions,
NASS produced an atlas of thematic (statistical) maps illustrating
various aspects of U.S. agriculture. While great for their time, with
the evolution of digital technology, these paper maps are no longer
sufficient on their own. The component missing from them is the data
behind the maps, so what better way to depict and also convey a myriad
of county-level statistics than through a web map application?
To address this issue, we decided to add a new web tool – Ag Census Web Maps
application – which features numerous 2012 Census of Agriculture Atlas
maps and also provides access to the data associated with the maps,
along with an API for developers. This web map application enables users
to interact with the maps – navigate to an area of interest, print a
map or save an image of the area, select a county to view and extract
its data, and download a spreadsheet containing all of the data for the
maps..."
Agriculture mapping
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