National Agricultural Imagery Program (NAIP), Minnesota, 2023, Digital Orthorectified Images (DOQ)
Go to Section:- Overview
- Data Quality
- Data Organization
- Coordinate System
- Attributes
- Distribution - Get Data
- Metadata Reference
Section 1: Overview
Originator:United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Farm Production and Conservation Business Center, Geospatial Enterprise Operations (FPAC-BC-GEO)
Title:
National Agricultural Imagery Program (NAIP), Minnesota, 2023, Digital Orthorectified Images (DOQ)
Abstract:
This dataset contains 4-band natural color and false color infrared (CIR) imagery from the National Agricultural Imagery Program (NAIP). NAIP acquires digital ortho imagery during the agricultural growing seasons in the continental U.S. A primary goal of the NAIP program is to enable availability of ortho imagery within one year of acquisition.
The source files are 30-centimeter (approx. 1-foot) ground sample distance (GSD) ortho imagery rectified to within +/- 4 meters to reference digital ortho quarter quads (DOQQ's) from the National Digital Ortho Program (NDOP) or from the National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP). The tiling format of NAIP imagery is based on a 3.75' x 3.75' quarter quadrangle with a 300 +/- 30 pixel buffer on all four sides. NAIP imagery is formatted to the UTM coordinate system using the North American Datum of 1983 (NAD83). NAIP imagery may contain as much as 10% cloud cover per tile.
The county mosaic files downloadable from the USDA NRCS Geospatial Data Gateway (natural color and color infrared) were generated by compressing NAIP imagery that covers the county extent. Two types of compression may be used for NAIP imagery: MrSID and JPEG 2000. The target value for the compression ratio is 40:1 for imagery.
The Minnesota Geospatial Information Office (MnGeo) created this metadata record to describe the entire NAIP 2023 dataset, using information from FPAC-BC-GEO metadata. Each county file available from the USDA NRCS Geospatial Data Gateway is accompanied by the original FPAC-BC-GEO metadata for that county.
Purpose:
NAIP imagery is typically available for distribution within 60 days of the end of a flying season and is intended to provide current information of agricultural conditions in support of USDA farm programs. For USDA Farm Service Agency, the 1 meter and 1/2 meter GSD product provides an ortho image base for Common Land Unit boundaries and other data sets. The NAIP imagery is generally acquired in projects covering full states in cooperation with state government and other federal agencies who use the imagery for a variety of purposes including land use planning and natural resource assessment. NAIP is also used for disaster response often providing the most current pre-event imagery.
Time Period of Content Date:
2023
Currentness Reference:
Summer 2023. See the IDATE attribute in the seamline shapefile for the state or accompanying each county download to find out the date(s) that the source imagery was acquired.
Options to access the dates:
1. A seamline shapefile for Minnesota may be downloaded from NRCS: https://nrcs.app.box.com/v/naip/folder/248146827619
2. The shapefiles are included with the MrSID county mosaics downloadable from NRCS
Progress:
Complete
Maintenance and Update Frequency:
Irregular
Spatial Extent of Data:
Minnesota
Bounding Coordinates:
-97.5
-89.00
49.5
43.0
Place Keywords:
Minnesota, MN
Theme Keywords:
imageryBaseMapsEarthCover, Digital Orthorectified Image, Digital Orthophoto Quad, Ortho, Orthophoto, DOQ, NAIP, Compliance, Air Photo, Air Photography, Aerial Photo, Aerial Photography
Theme Keyword Thesaurus:
ISO 19115 Topic Category
Access Constraints:
None
Use Constraints:
The USDA-FPAC-BC Geospatial Enterprise Operations branch asks to be credited in derived products.
If defects are found in the NAIP imagery during the 1 year warranty period such as horizontal offsets, replacement imagery may be provided. Imagery containing defects that require the acquisition of new imagery, such as excessive cloud cover, specular reflectance, etc., will not be replaced within a NAIP project year.
Contact Person Information:
Supervisor Customer Services Section,
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Farm Production and Conservation Business Center, Geospatial Enterprise Operations (FPAC-BC-GEO)
125 S. State Street Suite 6416
Salt Lake City,
UT
84139
Phone: 801-844-2922
Email: GEO.Sales@usda.gov
Section 2: Data Quality
Logical Consistency:
N/A
Completeness:
No report
Horizontal Positional Accuracy:
NAIP Specifications. The quarter-quad files are 0.3 meter ground sample distance (GSD) ortho imagery rectified within +/- 4 meters to reference digital ortho quarter quads (DOQQ's) from the National Digital Ortho Program (NDOP) or from the National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP).
Vertical Positional Accuracy:
N/A
Lineage:
The imagery was collected using the following digital sensors: Vexcel Condor M4.1 (435S02814X419065), Vexcel Condor M4.1 (435S22929X112177), Vexcel Condor M4.1 (435S42429X914186), Vexcel Condor M4.1 (435S42728X617260), Vexcel Condor M4.1 (435S52121X415104), Vexcel Condor M4.1 (435S52516X011066), Vexcel Condor M4.1 (435S52637X919264), Vexcel Condor M4.1 (435S72218X819057), Vexcel Condor M4.1 (435S82023X711149), Vexcel Condor M4.1 (435S82810X417100), Phase One Pana (21), Phase One Pana (22), Phase One Pana (23), Cameras are calibrated radiometrically and geometrically by the manufacturer. Collection was performed using twin-engine aircraft with turbines flying at 17,000 for the Condor and 30,000ft for the Pana above mean terrain. With this flying height, there is a 30% sidelap, giving the collected data nominal ground sampling distance of 15 cm Condor and .29m Pana rectified to 30cm. Based-upon the CCD Array configuration present in the Condor sensor, imagery for each flight line is 48,460-pixels in width. Red, Green, Blue, Near-Infrared and Panchromatic image bands were collected. Based-upon the CMOS Array configuration present in the Phase One digital sensor, imagery for each flight line is 45,000-pixels in width. Red, Green, Blue, Near-Infrared and Panchromatic image bands were collected. The Vexcel Condor has the following band specifications at 40% intensity: Red 585-690, Green 570-600, Blue 425-530, Near Infrared 700-830, The Phase One has the following band specifications: Red 585-690nm, Green 570-600nm, Blue 425-530nm, Near Infrared 680-830nm all values are in nanometers.
Flight planning was performed in IGI Plan over a buffered boundary covering DOQQ extents provided by the USDA. 3DEP based DEM file was used to determine ground heights. A targeted flight altitude of approximately 31,000 feet and 17,000 feet above ground level for native 30cm image and 15cm image acquisition with sidelap of 24-30% was used for flight planning parameters.
Multiple aircraft were utilized for acquisition, the seamline shapefile clarifies which aircraft were used for a given area. The Phase One and Vexcel Condor sensors have been calibrated by the manufacturer as well as validated against a local calibration range. The calibration includes measuring the radiometric and geometric properties of the camera. These data are used in the Phase One Image SDK and UltraMap Post Processing Software to eliminate the radiometric and geometric distortion.
All aerial imagery was collected with associated GPS/IMU data. Phase One and Vexcel Condor collection requires high quality IMU data for processing and was critical for early access hosting of digital data to the web for USDA interim access and review. After early access web delivery was complete, all imagery was triangulated using Vexcel Ultramap, Stellacore PictoVera and Agisoft Metashape in which the airborne GPS data was constrained to expected limits.
To validate the accuracy of the block adjustment derived from GPS/IMU, sensor parameters and conjugate point measurements, photo identifiable ground control points were field surveyed within each State. These points were surveyed using GPS techniques to produce coordinates that are accurate to +/- 0.25 meters RMSE in XYZ. The GPS surveying techniques utilized assured that the coordinates are derived in the required project datum and relative to an approved National Reference System. If the block does not fit the control points within specifications the pass and tie points were reviewed for blunders and weak areas. If, after these corrections were made, the block still does not fit the control well the GPS and IMU processing were reviewed.
Once the block has proper statistics and fits the control to specifications, the final bundle adjustment was made. The final adjustments assure a high quality relative adjustment and a high quality absolute adjustment limited to the airborne GPS data accuracy. This process assures the final absolute accuracy of all geopositioned imagery. Both signalized and photo identified ground control were used to QC and control the IMU/GPS based aerial triangulation bundle block solution.
Surdex Grouping Tool provides real-time updates of the USDA GEO Image Metrics. The image technician adjusts image correction parameters to bring the radiometric characteristics of large groups of images within the Image Metrics ranges.
For each project area the highest resolution DEM or LiDAR was obtained and utilized for rectification of captured imagery. A visual inspection of the final DEM using color cycled classification by elevation and a shaded relief was performed to check for gaps, corruption and gross errors. The predicted horizontal error for each point was added as an attribute in the SURDEX enterprise database. An operator reviews ortho seams in areas these predicted errors indicate horizontal error in excess of the contract specifications. Any imagery errors introduced by source DEM required patching from an alternate perspective or strip of photography.
Processing hardware used included various brands of survey grade GPS receivers, various brands and models of computers, RAID6 storage, calibrated monitors, various brands of monitor calibration colorimeters. Phase One Image SDK and Ultramap was used for post processing of images, triangulation was performed in Ultramap, Metashape and Pictovera, SURDEX software was used for orthorectification, color correction and to remove bidirectional reflectance, vignetting and other illumination trends. USDA GEO Image Metrics are measured and images corrected to conform to the Image Metrics using SURDEX software. GPS/IMU data was reduced to projected coordinates in the appropriate UTM zone using POSPac software from Applanix. Aerial Triangulation was performed using Agisoft Metashape, Ultramap and Stellacore Pictovera. SURDEX software was used to orthorectify, adjust for color variation between adjacent images. SURDEX software was used to calculate the optimal seam path, check seam topology and create master tiles. SURDEX ortho software generates occlusion/smear polygons used during seam review of steep terrain. SURDEX software was used to visually inspect master tiles for seam and image defects. SURDEX software was used to project and cut final DOQQ image files from masters. SURDEX software was used to create CCM metadata. Lizardtech GeoExpress was used to create the CCM image file. SURDEX software was used to perform final formatting, QC and naming of the DOQQ. USGS metadata parser software was used to validate the metadata. Various versions of Microsoft Windows were used in all phases of production. Grouping Tool was used again after DOQQ and CCM production to provide a quality assurance check.
Individual DOQQ and CCM may not meet the USDA GEO Image Metrics ranges due to land cover. The goal is to have the state as a whole meet the Image Metrics. All products are reviewed by independent personnel prior to delivery. The delivery is checked for omissions, commissions, naming, formatting, specification compliance and data integrity.
WMS Image Services
Both USDA GEO and MnGeo have created WMS services from the natural color MrSID county imagery files.
Section 3: Spatial Data Organization (not used in this metadata)
Section 4: Coordinate System
Horizontal Coordinate Scheme:
Universal Transverse Mercator
UTM Zone Number:
15
Horizontal Datum:
NAD83
Horizontal Units:
meters
Vertical Datum:
not applicable
Vertical Units:
Depth Datum:
not applicable
Depth Units:
Cell Width:
0.3
Cell Height:
0.3
Section 5: Attributes
Overview:
The imagery has a minimum 30cm GSD, and is 8-bits per band, 4-band orthorectified geotiff with tonal ranges per pixel between 0 - 255.
Detailed Citation:
None
Table Detail:
Section 6: Distribution
Publisher:
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Farm Production and Conservation Business Center, Geospatial Enterprise Operations (FPAC-BC-GEO)
Publication Date:
04/23/2025
Contact Person Information:
MnGeo,
GIS Data Specialist
Minnesota Geospatial Information Office (MnGeo)
600 Robert Street N
St. Paul,
MN
55146
Phone: 651-201-2499
Email: gisinfo.mngeo@state.mn.us
Distributor's Data Set Identifier:
NAIP 2023
Distribution Liability:
1. FPAC-BC-GEO Liability Statement: In no event shall the creators, custodians, or distributors of this information be liable for any damages arising out of its use (or the inability to use it).
2. MnGeo's disclaimer: https://www.mngeo.state.mn.us/chouse/disclaimer.html
Ordering Instructions:
The imagery is available free online by clicking below after Online Linkage.
1. View the natural color files seamlessly via a WMS service without having to download the files. They are available as two separate layers: a natural color version and a color infrared version.
2. Download each county file in MrSID format (natural color or color infrared) and accompanying seamline shapefile from the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service's Geospatial Data Gateway site: https://datagateway.nrcs.usda.gov/GDGHome_DirectDownLoad.aspx Online Linkage: I AGREE
to the notice in "Distribution Liability" above. Clicking to agree will either begin the download process, link to a service, or provide more instructions. See "Ordering Instructions" above for details.
Section 7: Metadata Reference
Metadata Date:
04/23/2025
Contact Person Information:
MnGeo,
GIS Data Specialist
Minnesota Geospatial Information Office (MnGeo)
600 Robert Street N
St. Paul,
MN
55146
Phone: 651-201-2499
Email: gisinfo.mngeo@state.mn.us
Metadata Standard Name:
Minnesota Geographic Metadata Guidelines
Metadata Standard Version:
1.2
