Within the same region, Landsat data 
were acquired and analyzed to estimate 
the proportion of wheat in 5 by 6 nautical 
mile samples. This analysis was accom- 
plished with procedures not requiring 
ground truth. Figure 10 illustrates the 
LACIE analysis procedure for area deter- 
mination of wheat. Digital Landsat data 
collected from worldwide receiving 
stations were forwarded to Goddard Space 
Flight Center (GSFC) where the LACIE 
sample segments were extracted and trans- 
mitted to JSC. There the digital data 
were stored for use throughout the season 
and transformed to imagery for analysis. 
The LACIE analyst used ancillary 
data (agromet data, crop calendars, and 
Landsat full frames) to help him identify 
the wheat fields in the imagery. The 
analyst labeled a small sample of the 
imagery as wheat and non-wheat to train 
a pattern recognition algorithm on JSC 
computers. The algorithm extended the 
training to the complete segment and 
produced a percentage of wheat. This 
procedure was repeated several times 
(multitemporally) during the crop season 
LACIE RESULTS 
The 1974-75 crop year, LACIE Phase I, 
was devoted to developing the experi- 
mental apparatus, assembling data bases 
of historic agronomic and weather data, 
developing sampling approaches, yield 
models, and analytical procedures, and 
training people. Preliminary testing and 
evaluation was also done. During the 1975- 
76 crop year, LACIE Phase II, the techno- 
logy as modified in Phase I was evaluated 
in the U.S. yardstick region, in the hard 
red spring wheat of Canada, and in both 
a spring wheat and a winter wheat region 
in the U.S.S.R. Exploratory studies of 
wheat identification and tests of yield 
models were conducted in five other 
important wheat regions.* The experi- 
*India, China, Australia, Argentina, 
and Brazil. 
for each segment using accumulated Land- 
sat images and updated ancillary data. 
In the U.S. yardstick region, stratum 
estimates for hectares, yield, and pro- 
duction were made at the state level. In 
Canada and the U.S.S.R., the strata were 
considerably larger. The purpose of 
analyzing estimates at the stratum level 
was twofold: 
1) To explore the geographic size at 
which weather and hectarage (or acreage) 
must be associated to attain a given 
precision at the region or country level. 
2) To investigate within a single crop 
year how the technology performed in each 
of the many strata with their different 
agricultural and meteorological charac- 
teristics. Thus, in a sense, testing the 
technology in 10 subregions during a 
single crop year equals testing it in a 
single region for 10 crop years. This is 
well illustrated in an analysis of the 
different conditions that prevailed in 
nine states in the yardstick region of 
the U.S. during the three crop years. 
mental results of Phases I and II, which 
were most encouraging, permitted inves- 
tigators to improve the algorithms and 
procedures used to analyze the weather 
and Landsat data. 
An evaluation of the results of 
Phase II led LACIE investigators to con- 
clude that the approach worked well in 
estimating the production of winter wheat 
in both the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. Three 
major problems encountered were the 
difficulty in reliably differentiating 
spring barley from spring wheat in Land- 
sat data, the problem of developing yield 
models in countries with little or no 
reliable historic data, and the diffi- 
culty in making accurate acreage esti- 
mates in regions with small fields. For 
example, because it was difficult for the 
Landsat imagery to resolve the shape of 
the strip faklow fields (long but narrow) 
the wheat area in the hard red spring 
  
NASA/JSC 
DIGITAL 
IMAGE DATA 
LANDSAT 
| 
    
——— Cw 
GSFC 
"e