NASA and USDA sign memorandum on space data sharing for farmers

NASA and the U.S. Department of Agriculture signed a memorandum of understanding on Oct. 24, 2026, at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, according to NASA and several outlets, while other reports place the ceremony in Washington, D.C.

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said blending NASA’s Earth observations with USDA’s agricultural expertise can improve data for farmers, deepen insight into crops and natural hazards, and support ambitious science and competitiveness projects. Isaacman made the remarks in a statement released with the agreement. Brooke Rollins, the agriculture secretary, said farmers merit any available solution, including from space, and that the department will collaborate with NASA on technology, research and development to strengthen farming, improve acreage and yield forecasts, and increase profitability. She linked the deal to a Trump Administration push for research and technology opportunities, along with better acreage and yield estimation.

“American farmers are the best in the world and deserve any solution we can leverage, even when it is out of this world,” Rollins said. Isaacman said NASA develops some of the most advanced sensing, computing, and analytical capabilities in the world.

The memorandum builds on an existing NASA-USDA relationship by tightening data integration and coordination linking Earth observation with agricultural applications. NASA says the agreement deepens a longstanding partnership that has supported collaborative research and data-sharing for U.S. agriculture. Under the pact, the agencies may examine farm statistics, remote sensing science, modeling, geospatial data engineering, and superintelligence, defined here as artificial intelligence beyond human capability.

The deal aims to strengthen crop monitoring, improve acreage and yield estimates, and better evaluate drought and other disasters. These are outcomes of better alignment between Earth observation tools and agricultural needs. The agencies will examine new ways to handle and study large datasets, with the goal of making USDA data systems stronger and providing farmers, ranchers, and policymakers with quicker, more dependable information.

The agreement requires regular technical discussions to align USDA statistics requirements with NASA Earth science missions and satellite observations. Officials say the agencies intend to support USDA production work using scalable access to NASA archives, cloud-based geospatial formats, and application programming interfaces. The agencies will carry out joint technical reviews of formulas for crop condition indicators, yield models, planted and harvested area figures, and disaster impact assessments, including bias correction and validation.

The collaboration backs USDA’s Data Modernization Plan, which Rollins introduced last month and which aims to reduce producer burdens while making farm data more timely, accurate, and useful. The deal connects to President Trump’s December 2025 executive order, “Ensuring American Space Superiority,” which prompted NASA and USDA to study improvements for American and global agriculture, environmental monitoring, and human health.

NASA has now completed two interagency data-sharing agreements this month, including the memorandum with USDA. The USDA agreement comes after a memorandum with the Department of Energy signed on Oct. 8 to speed cooperation on space nuclear power and propulsion, covering the design, construction, testing, and deployment of nuclear systems and fuel for operations in orbit.

NASA’s relationship with USDA stretches back years. An earlier pact between the agencies, signed on a Wednesday, had already improved cooperation on agricultural and Earth science research, technology, agricultural management, and applied science. Since 2009, USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service has relied on Landsat data to follow dozens of crops across the lower 48 states through the Cropland Data Layer program.

Landsat watches planted fields and crop conditions, MODIS supplies daily imagery for yield analysis, and SMAP measures soil moisture. NASS says blending satellite pictures with field enumerator information allows it to generate more accurate statistics and quicker reports. NASS briefing material says satellite images identify acreage and judge crop health and yield, while ground observations verify acreage totals and refine yield estimates.

NASS material says the Foreign Agricultural Service analyzes satellite images to follow foreign crop conditions and forecast yields for crops important to the United States, such as wheat and other commodities. NASS material describes this monitoring as improving the accuracy of U.S. production forecasts. The NASDA-NASS partnership has brought on enumerators nationwide to gather farm data in the field since 1972.

Officials say American farmers and ranchers will gain access to advanced technology through the deal, although no funding levels, staffing commitments, or rollout timelines have been detailed. The pact takes effect right away and aligns with USDA’s ongoing data and technology modernization efforts. Later work under the agreement may involve remote sensing, predictive modeling, machine learning, and other new technologies as priorities come up.

Isaacman said the Tuscaloosa stop belonged to NASA’s Inspiration Tour, connecting the agency with the people, technologies, and organizations driving U.S. space leadership. Rollins said the deal backs USDA data modernization priorities, and she said farmers have long been just surviving. She made the remarks at Champions Lane before the Alabama-Texas A&M matchup in Tuscaloosa. Isaacman flew an F-5 jet with Rollins as copilot in the pre-game flyover at the Alabama-Texas A&M matchup, and during the game Senator Katie Britt, Isaacson, Rollins and crew members presented University President Peter J. Mohler with a flag that flew aboard Artemis II on its trip around the moon.

The UA News Center says an open-source software toolkit built on campus assisted researchers in calculating and designing Artemis I and II spacecraft paths. Rohan Sood, an associate professor of aerospace engineering and mechanics, developed the toolkit.