Utilizing Remote Sensing and Geospatial Data to Characterize Administrative Data Undercoverage for Crop Acreage Estimation

Agricultural administrative data, which include information collected primarily for administrative purposes by governments and other organizations, are commonly used to improve agricultural statistics. However, one limitation of administrative data is the issue of undercoverage, or the proportion of the target population data that is not represented. If the extent and type of the undercoverage is well understood, adjustments can be made to account for it in the estimation process. The objective of this study is to develop a new method utilizing remote sensing and geospatial data to estimate the extent and type of crop specific administrative data undercoverage in two states in the United States. Preliminary results are reasonable and consistent over a five-year period from 2018 – 2022. The proposed method for estimating the extent and type of crop-specific administrative data undercoverage provides a new tool to improve crop acreage estimation in the U.S.