News.Civ.001 News.Civ.001

Context

Introduction

The U.S. Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), intended to support sustainable farming and soil conservation, is struggling to meet its goals amid declining farmer participation and outdated targeting strategies. AgriPulse Analytics, a nonprofit research group focused on sustainable agriculture policy, provides data-driven insights to inform federal conservation program improvements. Learners will work with USDA Agricultural Census data accessed via an ArcGIS Feature Service, analyzing land use patterns and conservation enrollment across U.S. counties.

Role

The learner acts as a Policy Data Analyst at AgriPulse Analytics. They are tasked with identifying geographic and demographic trends in conservation program participation, particularly regions underserved by the CRP. This analysis contributes to shaping equitable and effective policy recommendations that strengthen conservation efforts nationwide.

Business Objectives

The task is to evaluate gaps in CRP adoption using agricultural census data to recommend improvements for better targeting and outreach. The learner’s background in geographic and agricultural data equips them to spot discrepancies between areas in need of conservation support and actual program participation. Success means producing an evidence-based report highlighting priority regions for increased CRP focus, complete with maps and summary metrics. These insights aim to help Congress and relevant agencies redesign CRP policy to better align with environmental and farmer needs.

Products

The product is a visual presentation that highlights key findings on the adoption and effectiveness of conservation practices across U.S. farmland. It includes maps, charts, and regional insights on cover crops, no-till farming, and CRP participation, making complex data accessible for policymakers and the public while supporting informed conservation decisions.

Codebook

Alfalfa acres, atlas_acre, atlas_area, Conservation Easement Acreage, Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) acres (2022), Conventional till acreage, Cover crops acres, Cropland acres (2017), CRP WRP FWP CREP acres, entity, Failed crop acres, Harvested crop land acres, Land in farms (acres), No-till acreage, Percent of agricultural land in conservation easement, Percent of Cropland in the Conservation Reserve Program (2022), Percent of harvested cropland in cover crops, Percent of tilled cropland using conservation tillage, Percent of total tilled cropland using no-till, Reduced-till acreage, Shape__Area, Shape__Length, State Abbreviation, State FIPS, State Name, STATE NAME, Statenum

Dataset

License

Tags

• Dashboard

Data Provenance

https://services.arcgis.com/U7I2hMhPtOeGx0fs/ArcGIS/rest/services/Agricultural_Census_USDA/FeatureServer/1