2017 Census of Agriculture State-Level Boundaries, (StUS17_WGS84WMAS.shp -.shx, -.dbf, -.sbn, -.sbx, -.prj, -.cpg, -.xml; StAK17_WGS84WMAS.shp -.shx, -.dbf, -.sbn, -.sbx, -.prj, -.cpg, -.xml; StHI17_WGS84WMAS.shp -.shx, -.dbf, -.sbn, -.sbx, -.prj, -.cpg, -.xml; StPR17_WGS84WMAS.shp -.shx, -.dbf, -.sbn, -.sbx, -.prj, -.cpg, -.xml)

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Frequently anticipated questions:

What does this data set describe?

Title:
2017 Census of Agriculture State-Level Boundaries, (StUS17_WGS84WMAS.shp -.shx, -.dbf, -.sbn, -.sbx, -.prj, -.cpg, -.xml; StAK17_WGS84WMAS.shp -.shx, -.dbf, -.sbn, -.sbx, -.prj, -.cpg, -.xml; StHI17_WGS84WMAS.shp -.shx, -.dbf, -.sbn, -.sbx, -.prj, -.cpg, -.xml; StPR17_WGS84WMAS.shp -.shx, -.dbf, -.sbn, -.sbx, -.prj, -.cpg, -.xml)
Abstract:
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) conducted an Agricultural Census in 2017. The statistical census data are summarized at the state, county, and U.S. levels and are available in a digital format. The Research and Development Division of NASS modified generalized state boundaries to show geographic areas for which the 2017 Agricultural Census statistics are reported at the state level. These state-level boundary files were used in the production of the 2017 United States Census of Agriculture, Agricultural Census Web Maps. The boundary files can be employed in a desktop or online Geographic Information System (GIS) with the 2017 Agricultural Census statistical data by using the Agricultural Census state codes to associate the state-level spatial entities with the state-level statistical data.
Supplemental_Information:
These Agricultural Census state-level boundary files may be used with statistical data in the 2017 Census of Agriculture, Volume 1, Geographic Area Series, Parts 1 - 50, and 2018 Census of Agriculture, Volume 1, Geographic Area Series, Part 52.
  1. How might this data set be cited?
    United States Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service, Research and Development Division, Spatial Analysis Research Section, 2019, 2017 Census of Agriculture State-Level Boundaries, (StUS17_WGS84WMAS.shp -.shx, -.dbf, -.sbn, -.sbx, -.prj, -.cpg, -.xml; StAK17_WGS84WMAS.shp -.shx, -.dbf, -.sbn, -.sbx, -.prj, -.cpg, -.xml; StHI17_WGS84WMAS.shp -.shx, -.dbf, -.sbn, -.sbx, -.prj, -.cpg, -.xml; StPR17_WGS84WMAS.shp -.shx, -.dbf, -.sbn, -.sbx, -.prj, -.cpg, -.xml): U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service, Washington, DC.

    Online Links:

  2. What geographic area does the data set cover?
    West_Bounding_Coordinate: -179.14734
    East_Bounding_Coordinate: -65.22157
    North_Bounding_Coordinate: 71.352561
    South_Bounding_Coordinate: 17.926875
  3. Does the data set describe conditions during a particular time period?
    Beginning_Date: 2017
    Ending_Date: 2019
    Currentness_Reference:
    2019: Publication of state-level boundaries and land areas. 2017-2018: Production of state-level boundaries and land areas.
  4. What is the general form of this data set?
    Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: vector digital data
  5. How does the data set represent geographic features?
    1. How are geographic features stored in the data set?
      Indirect_Spatial_Reference:
      American National Standards Institute, 2009, Information Technology Codes for the Identification of the States, and Equivalent Areas within the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Insular Areas (INCITS 38–2009[R2014]): Washington, D.C., American National Standards Institute. https://webstore.ansi.org/RecordDetail.aspx?sku=INCITS+38-2009%5bR2014%5d https://www.census.gov/library/reference/code-lists/ansi.html
      This is a Vector data set. It contains the following vector data types (SDTS terminology):
      • G-Polygon (51)
    2. What coordinate system is used to represent geographic features?
      The map projection used is (Web) Mercator Auxiliary Sphere.
      Projection parameters:
      Standard_Parallel: 0.00000000
      Longitude_of_Central_Meridian: 0.00000000
      False_Easting: 0.00000000
      False_Northing: 0.00000000
      Scale_Factor_at_Equator: 1.0
      Planar coordinates are encoded using row and column
      Abscissae (x-coordinates) are specified to the nearest 0.000001
      Ordinates (y-coordinates) are specified to the nearest 0.000001
      Planar coordinates are specified in meters
      The horizontal datum used is World Geodetic System 1984.
      The ellipsoid used is World Geodetic System 84.
      The semi-major axis of the ellipsoid used is 6378137.0.
      The flattening of the ellipsoid used is 1/298.257223563.
  6. How does the data set describe geographic features?
    StUS17_WGS84WMAS/StAK17_WGS84WMAS/StHI17_WGS84WMAS/StPR17_WGS84WMAS
    State-level boundaries of geographic areas for which 2017 Agricultural Census statistics are reported. (Source: USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service.)
    FID
    Internal feature identification number. (Source: ESRI) Sequential unique whole numbers automatically generated.
    SHAPE
    Feature geometry. (Source: ESRI) Coordinates defining the features.
    ATLAS_ST
    State equivalent ANSI code. (Source: USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service)
    Formal codeset
    Codeset Name:American National Standards Institute, 2009, Information Technology Codes for the Identification of the States, and Equivalent Areas within the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Insular Areas (INCITS 38–2009[R2014]): Washington, D.C., American National Standards Institute.
    Codeset Source:American National Standards Institute
    ST_ABBREV
    State equivalent abbreviation. (Source: USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service)
    Formal codeset
    Codeset Name:American National Standards Institute, 2009, Information Technology Codes for the Identification of the States, and Equivalent Areas within the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Insular Areas (INCITS 38–2009[R2014]): Washington, D.C., American National Standards Institute.
    Codeset Source:American National Standards Institute.
    ATLAS_NAME
    Lowercase state equivalent name. (Source: USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service)
    Formal codeset
    Codeset Name:American National Standards Institute, 2009, Information Technology Codes for the Identification of the States, and Equivalent Areas within the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Insular Areas (INCITS 38–2009[R2014]): Washington, D.C., American National Standards Institute.
    Codeset Source:American National Standards Institute
    ATLAS_CAPS
    Uppercase state equivalent name. (Source: USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service)
    Formal codeset
    Codeset Name:American National Standards Institute, 2009, Information Technology Codes for the Identification of the States, and Equivalent Areas within the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Insular Areas (INCITS 38–2009[R2014]): Washington, D.C., American National Standards Institute.
    Codeset Source:American National Standards Institute
    ATLAS_AREA
    Land area in square miles of a state equivalent. (Source: USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service)
    Range of values
    Minimum:1033.981 (actual value, not min. range value)
    Maximum:570886.132 (actual value, not max. range value)
    Units:Square mile
    ATLAS_ACRE
    Land area in acres of a state equivalent. (Source: USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service)
    Range of values
    Minimum:661747.84 (actual value, not min. range value)
    Maximum:365367124.48 (actual value, not max. range value)
    Units:Acre
    ENTITY
    Type of state-level entity. (Source: USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service)
    ValueDefinition
    State, State EquivalentType of state-level entity.

Who produced the data set?

  1. Who are the originators of the data set? (may include formal authors, digital compilers, and editors)
  2. Who also contributed to the data set?
    Research and Development Division staff
  3. To whom should users address questions about the data?
    Spatial Analysis Research Section staff
    USDA/NASS/RDD/SARS
    1400 Independence Ave. SW, Room 6040
    Washington, DC

    202-720-1698 (voice)
    855-593-5472 (FAX)
    HQRDDSARS@nass.usda.gov

Why was the data set created?

The boundaries are intended for geographic display and analysis at the state level. The boundary data are designed for small scale thematic mapping applications at a scale of 1:20,000,000 or smaller (e.g., 1:50,000,000, etc.). The state-level boundaries are provided "as is". The USDA/NASS does not warrant the results you may obtain using the Agricultural Census state-level boundary data.

How was the data set created?

  1. From what previous works were the data drawn?
    BOCUSST17 (source 1 of 9)
    U.S. Bureau of the Census, Geography Division, 2017, ST_US_WGS84WMAS_2017_20m.shp, -.shx, -.dbf (Generalized digital vector state polygon files): U.S. Bureau of the Census, Geography Division, Suitland, MD.

    Type_of_Source_Media: online
    Source_Scale_Denominator: 20000000
    Source_Contribution: spatial and attribute information
    BOCUSSTAREA17 (source 2 of 9)
    U.S. Bureau of the Census, Geography Division, 2017, usda_2017_state_supplemental.dbf (2017 U.S. state land area, perimeter data): U.S. Bureau of the Census, Geography Division, Suitland, MD.

    Type_of_Source_Media: online
    Source_Contribution: attribute information
    SQMIUSST17 (source 3 of 9)
    USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service, 2018, 2017 Agricultural Census state-level boundary file created with land area in square miles: USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service, Washington, DC.

    Type_of_Source_Media: online
    Source_Scale_Denominator: 20000000
    Source_Contribution: spatial and attribute information
    ACREUSST17 (source 4 of 9)
    USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service, 2018, 2017 Agricultural Census state-level boundary file attributed and land acreage calculated: USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service, Washington, DC.

    Type_of_Source_Media: online
    Source_Scale_Denominator: 20000000
    Source_Contribution: spatial and attribute information
    USSTATES_AEA12 (source 5 of 9)
    USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service, 2013, 2012 Agricultural Census state-level projected boundary file: USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service, Washington, DC.

    Type_of_Source_Media: online
    Source_Scale_Denominator: 20000000
    Source_Contribution: spatial and attribute information
    USCOAST_AEA12 (source 6 of 9)
    USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service, 2018, 2012 Agricultural Census US coastline boundary file: USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service, Washington, DC.

    Type_of_Source_Media: online
    Source_Scale_Denominator: 20000000
    Source_Contribution: spatial information
    USSTCLIP_AEA17 (source 7 of 9)
    USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service, 2018, 2017 Agricultural Census state-level boundary file clipped to 2012 coastline: USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service, Washington, DC.

    Type_of_Source_Media: online9
    Source_Scale_Denominator: 20000000
    Source_Contribution: spatial and attribute information
    STUSAKHIPR_AEA17 (source 8 of 9)
    USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service, 2019, 2017 Agricultural Census state-level boundary files extracted and projected for US, AK, HI, PR: USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service, Washington, DC.

    Type_of_Source_Media: online
    Source_Scale_Denominator: 20000000
    Source_Contribution: spatial and attribute information
    STUSAKHIPR17_WGS84WMAS (source 9 of 9)
    USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service, 2019, Final reprojected 2017 Agricultural Census state-level boundary files for US, AK, HI, PR: USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service, Washington, DC.

    Type_of_Source_Media: online
    Source_Scale_Denominator: 20000000
    Source_Contribution: spatial and attribute information
  2. How were the data generated, processed, and modified?
    Date: 2018 (process 1 of 6)
    1 - Creation of Agricultural Census state-level boundary file. Use state boundary and attribute source files provided by the Bureau of the Census. State boundaries were aggregated (dissolved) on the Agricultural Census state (ANSI) codes. State land area values were summed to produce state land area values in square miles (District of Columbia aggregated with Maryland). Data sources used in this process:
    • BOCUSST17
    • BOCUSSTAREA17
    Data sources produced in this process:
    • SQMIUSST17
    Date: 2018 (process 2 of 6)
    2 - Update of state-level boundary file. The 2017 Agricultural Census state boundary files were updated with 2017 attribute values. The state acreage fields were populated by multiplying the state land area in square miles by 640 (1 square mile = 640 acres). Data sources used in this process:
    • SQMIUSST17
    • BOCUSSTAREA17
    Data sources produced in this process:
    • ACREUSST17
    Date: 2018 (process 3 of 6)
    3 - Create coastline of the 2012 1:20,000,000 scale Agricultural Census boundary file. Dissolve the 2012 1:20,000,000 scale Agricultural Census state-level boundary file to create a coastline boundary file (more detailed than 2017 1:20,000,000 scale coastline). Data sources used in this process:
    • USSTATES_AEA12
    Data sources produced in this process:
    • USCOAST_AEA12
    Date: 2018 (process 4 of 6)
    4 - Clip 2017 Agricultural Census state-level boundary file. Use 2012 1:20,000,000 US coastline boundary file to clip the 2017 1:20,000,000 scale Agricultural Census state-level boundary file. Clipping the 2017 state-level boundary file by the 2012 coastline adds more detail (e.g., coastal inlets) to the 2017 state- level boundary file. Data sources used in this process:
    • ACREUSST17
    • USCOAST_AEA12
    Data sources produced in this process:
    • USSTCLIP_AEA17
    Date: 2018 (process 5 of 6)
    5 - Extract, project clipped Agricultural Census state-level boundary files. Extracted 2017 Agricultural Census state-level boundary files to create separate shapefiles for the continental US, AK, HI, and PR. Reprojected shapefiles to custom Albers Equal Area projections. Data sources used in this process:
    • USSTCLIP_AEA17
    Data sources produced in this process:
    • STUSAKHIPR_AEA17
    Date: 2018 (process 6 of 6)
    6 - Reproject Agricultural Census state-level boundary files. The 2017 Agricultural Census state-level boundary files for the continental US, AK, HI, and PR were reprojected to (Web) Mercator Auxiliary Sphere (WMAS) projection, World Geographic System (WGS84) datum. Data sources used in this process:
    • STUSAKHIPR_AEA17
    Data sources produced in this process:
    • StUSAKHIPR17_WGS84WMAS

How reliable are the data; what problems remain in the data set?

  1. How well have the observations been checked?
    Unmodified entities have entity codes and names which conform to the American National Standards Institute's INCITS 38–2009[R2014], formerly Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) 5-2. Area values in square miles are derived from land polygon area values from the U.S. Census Bureau's TIGER database.
  2. How accurate are the geographic locations?
    The state-level boundary data are highly generalized and suitable for use in small scale (1:20,000,000) thematic mapping applications. No accuracy tests were performed.
  3. Where are the gaps in the data? What is missing?
    The generalized data do NOT include 1) boundaries for the Aleutian Islands in the Eastern Hemisphere, 2) boundaries for Hawaiian Islands west of -19942590.665742 m longitude (-160.555771 degrees), 3) very small polygons because of coordinate thinning, and 4) water polygons. This data set provides the land area in square miles and number of acres for each state equivalent. The land area values are based on the area of land polygons from the U.S. Census Bureau's TIGER database. If a state is composed of several polygons, the area value assigned to each polygon is the land area value of the entire state (for the purpose of choropleth mapping). The state-level boundary for Maryland was modified to include the District of Columbia (D.C.), because Agricultural Census data for D.C. are not reported separately. State- level American National Standards Institute (ANSI) codes are used to identify states. Because Maryland and D.C. state boundaries were aggregated, Maryland's ANSI code 24 represents both Maryland (24) and D.C. (11).
  4. How consistent are the relationships among the observations, including topology?
    No topological checks were performed on the data.

How can someone get a copy of the data set?

  1. Are there legal restrictions on access or use of the data?
    Access_Constraints: None
    Use_Constraints:
    None. Acknowledgment of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service would be appreciated in products derived from these data files.
  2. Who distributes the data set? (Distributor 1 of 1)
    USDA, NASS Customer service
    1400 Independence Ave., SW, Room 5038
    Washington, District of Columbia
    USA

    1-800-727-9540 (voice)
    855-493-0447 (FAX)
    nass@nass.usda.gov
  3. What's the catalog number I need to order this data set? United States: 2017 Census of Agriculture downloadable state-level boundary files.
  4. What legal disclaimers am I supposed to read?
    Users of the Agricultural Census state-level boundary data are solely responsible for interpretations made from the product. The boundary data are provided "as is". USDA/NASS does not warrant results you may obtain by using the boundary data. Feel free to contact our staff at (HQRDDSARS@nass.usda.gov) if technical questions arise in the use of the state-level boundary data.
  5. How can I download or order the data?

Who wrote the metadata?

Dates:
Last modified: 31-Jan-2018
Metadata author:
USDA/NASS/RDD/SARS
1400 Independence Ave., SW, Room 6040
Washington, DC
USA

202-720-1698 (voice)
855-593-5472 (FAX)
HQRDDSARS@nass.usda.gov
Metadata standard:
FGDC Content Standards for Digital Geospatial Metadata (FGDC-STD-001-1998)
Generated by mp version 2.9.46 on Mon Feb 05 16:59:35 2018