SPDSS_Task89-2_CropLandUseClassificationProcedures_20060929

• Title: SPDSS Task 89.2 - Crop and Land Use Classification Procedures for Year 2001
• Description: This memorandum describes the activities conducted under Task 89: ‘Mapping of Irrigated Land Use and Irrigated Parcel Boundaries’ for year 2001 and complements the SPDSS Memoranda for Task 89.1 and Task 90.2. This memorandum also provides details on the methods used to conduct a number of Task 89 activities, including Task 89.3: Determine Irrigated Vs. Non-irrigated Lands, Task 89.4: Identify Crop Types In Each Polygon, Task 89.5: Review, Revision and Final Classification, and Task 89.6: Conduct Accuracy Assessment, as well as the results obtained from these activities for year 2001.
• Decision Support - Doc Type: Task Memorandum
• Date: 9/29/2006
• DSS Category: GIS
• DSS: South Platte
• Basin: South Platte
• Contract/PO #: C153960
• Grant Type: Non-Reimbursable
• Bill Number: SB01-157, HB02-1152, SB03-110, HB04-1221, SB05-084, HB06-1313, SB07-122
• Prepared By: Riverside Technology inc.

MEMO 89.2
Table 2. Reference Parcels Collected from FSA for Major Crop Types and Other Land Use Categories
Crop Type Irrigated Non-irrigated Total
Small Grains 98 173 271
Dry Beans 59 0 59
Corn 245 30 275
Sorghum 4 4 8
Alfalfa 187 0 187
Sugar Beets 56 0 56
Grass for Hay or Pasture, Irrigated Meadows 101 30 131
Vegetables 80 0 80
Sun Flowers 10 14 24
Millet 0 40 40
Fallow Parcels 0 114 114
Grasslands (CRP') 0 44 44
Total 840 600 1289
2.4.1 FSA Data Collection
Per the SSIC of SPDSS Scope of Work, 2001 was the year selected as the base for SPDSS mapping
activities. Because the analysis was conducted in 2003 and 2004, direct access to ground truth
information on crops, such us field observations, was not possible. Thus, FSA's aerial photography with
parcel boundaries and annual delineation of crop types was identified as the main source of ground truth
data. This information, provided annually by producers, corresponds to approximately 50 percent of
irrigated farmlands in the SPDSS study area.
This section describes the procedures conducted by RTi personnel to obtain ground truth data from FSA.
In order to comply with the legal requirements of the `Freedom of Information And Privacy Act', the
Colorado Water Conservation Board obtained permission to access FSA information from FSA
authorities in Washington DC. As indicated by the acting director of the appeals and litigation staff of the
FSA in Washington DC, data collection activities were coordinated with FSA authorities at the Colorado
State office. Colorado FSA authorities, in turn, informed local FSA offices in the SPDSS area about the
purpose of the data collection activities and asked all corresponding County Directors to collaborate with
RTi personnel. After these initial coordination steps, all visits of RTi personnel to County FSA offices
were coordinated directly with County Directors.
RTi collected ground truth data from twelve FSA offices that served seventeen counties within the
SPDSS area. Table 3 shows a list of the FSA offices visited, as well as the number of reference parcels
collected from each one of these offices. For more information on the FSA offices visited, please refer to
Appendix B.
i The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) is a voluntary program for agricultural landowners. Through CRP, farmers can
receive annual rental payments and cost-share assistance to establish long-term, resource-conserving covers on eligible farmland.
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