National Resources Inventory

Local Data Survey Instructions and Background Information

The 2024 NRI Local Data Survey collects information about fields or areas associated with sample points selected for the 2024 National Resources Inventories (NRI) in your state. This page includes a Getting Started guide and information on Survey Topics, Page Layout, and Getting Help.

NRI sample area segments (called PSUs in the past) are areas of land with 1-3 sample points selected within the area. Area segments range from about 40 to 640 acres in size, with most being about 160 acres (Public Land Survey quarter section).

NRI sample points are included in the 2024 NRI Local Data Survey if during the 2024 growing season, the associated fields or areas may have been

• cropland, grassland*, hayland, or
• enrolled in a Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) general sign-up.

This initial determination is made at the Remote Sensing Lab by photo-interpreters viewing 2024 photography.

Getting Started

Step 1. Select an NRI sample segment ID:

NRI sample segments for this survey are accessed by selecting a state, county and then a segment from choice list on the Choose Segment page of the web survey. The approved browsers for web survey data collection are Microsoft Edge and Google Chrome.

The 2024 Local Data Survey collects information for both rotation segments and core segments.

• Rotation segments are observed periodically during the NRI survey, and can be divided into two categories:
  • New rotation segments have not appeared in a NRI survey since 1997. New information for all protocols is required for 2024. No review/editing of data collected in 1997 is required.
  • Revisited rotation segments have been observed at least once during 2001-2023. Historical data is available to review/edit for the previous surveys where data had been collected. In addition to reviewing the historical information, new information for all protocols is required for 2024.
• Core segments are included in the NRI data collection process every year. New information for all eligible protocols is required for 2024. In addition, historical data must be reviewed/edited for 2024.

The segment display can be filtered by segment type.

Highlight the segment ID and click on continue to select the segment.  Only those segments that have not been completed are shown in the choice list.

You are asked to complete a separate survey for each eligible sample point in the NRI segment. There may be 1, 2 or 3 sample points in the segment that qualify for the NRI Local Data Survey. The web survey for one point will be displayed as you begin your work. You may switch to a different point in the segment at any time by clicking on the displayed point name.

It is recommended that you save your work frequently. Segments can be closed at any time by clicking on close segment.  You will also be prompted to save your work whenever you close a segment. This will return you to the choose segment page.  It is important to completely close and exit out of the segment before exiting the Local Data Survey Instrument. Failure to do so will result in the segment being locked for data collection by other users. Only the person that has locked a segment will be able to unlock it.

Step 2. Determine the field or area surrounding the NRI sample point and review the segment notes:

Once a segment has been selected, click on Segment Notes from the upper right hand corner of the window. It is critical to review the segment notes before beginning any data collection for a segment.

After reviewing the segment notes, click on Location Info & FSA Crop History Data to display the map view screen.  Note that a map view of the segment location is displayed. Scroll down to view the point locations.

Begin by reviewing the area map.  The general segment location is shown as a polygon with a flag. A scale on the left side of the map allows you to zoom in and out of the general location.

NRI photos are displayed below the area map. The locations for 1 to 3 points will be displayed on the photos. Several years of photography may be available for display. An enlarged view is also available to assist with locating points near field borders.

Select the appropriate aerial image year by using the drop down menu.

Additional photo adjustments can also be made and include:

• automatically or manually adjusting the contrast of the photo. This is particularly useful if the photo is unusually dark.
• making the segment boundary and point location marks and labels transparent.

Step 3. Obtain the Farm Service Agency(FSA) and Natural Resources Conservation Service(NRCS) case files for completing the web survey:

All survey questions will ask about the field or area considered for conservation planning that the NRI sample point falls in.  This area should have a common set of treatment needs and be represented by a common crop rotation, management, and support practices. Use the NRI image with sample points to identify the field or area that surrounds each NRI sample point in the segment.

Size Limits. Several land cover/uses have a minimum size and width requirements. This is explained in detail in the Land Type section of the survey topics.

Once you have determined which field or area surrounds the NRI sample point, find all FSA and NRCS case files that are available for the field or area during '2001 to 2024 growing seasons'. A detailed listing of requested information is shown below.

2024 Local Data Survey Instrument Data Requirements

* Dependent on sampling pattern, Rotation segments were previously observed in either 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, or 2001.

** Not reviewed for those segments last observed in 2001.

Step 4. Begin completing the survey for a point:

For each point, you are asked to enter information into the web survey for the field or area associated with the point. For more information on how to use these web pages, see Page Layout.

Whenever possible, answer survey questions using FSA and NRCS case files for the field or area.  When no files exist, use your local knowledge to determine the appropriate value for the survey question. 

The web survey includes questions on some or all of the following topics:

• Availability of FSA cropping history and conservation plan for the field or area
• Land type and cropping history (including second harvested crops in double-cropped fields)
• Enrollment in the General CRP
• Irrigation type, source, and delivery system
• Standard conservation practices
• RUSLE 2 management systems
• RUSLE 2 support practices
• WEQ Wind erosion factors

Making changes and Reviewing Entered Data: You may return to previously entered sections of data by clicking on the + icon located on the right side of the individual survey topics. You can always return to any point and edit data until you close it and designate it as complete.  Once you designate it as complete, the segment is available for your State Resource Inventory Coordinator to review and approve.

Both core and rotational segments will display information entered during their last data collection cycles. This data may be edited if found in error, updated for the current survey to reflect any changes, or brought forward to 2024 in some protocols if there have been no changes.  Points will also list the land type determination made by the Remote Sensing Laboratory(RSL) for the current and past survey years. If you disagree with the RSL determination, you will be required to leave a segment note explaining the discrepancy before moving on. In any segment note, please explain the evidence you are using to disagree with the RSL determination.

Survey Topics

Field Information: You are asked whether FSA cropping history or NRCS conservation plans are available for the field or area surrounding the sample point.An NRCS conservation plan can be simple or very detailed. We are simply trying to determine whether local determinations were made using actual records or tacit knowledge.

FSA Cropping History: The cropping history and FSA Common Land Unit (CLU)layers for the years 2008 through 2024 have been loaded into the local data survey instrument. The only way to access the FSA information is to click on the 'Location Info & FSA Crop History Data' tab.

Land Type and Cropping History: RSL used aerial photography to classify each point as one of the following:

1. New or existing CRP General Contract. Land enrolled in the Continuous or Grassland CRP is classified according to its respective land use (i.e. cropland, grassland, etc.). For land that is enrolled in General CRP, you will also be asked to provide the sign-up number and major cover practice.
2. Crop/Hayland. This category includes all land used for the production of crops, in summer fallow, or where the primary use is for the production of forage crops that are machine harvested. If the point falls on an inclusion, such as a pile of rocks, group of trees or other perennial cover associated with a conservation practice, less than one acre in size and less than 100 feet wide, the cover/use of the field is the cover use for the point. If crop/hayland is selected as the land type, a drop down box will be activated for you to record the specific crop. You will also be asked to provide information about double cropping during selected survey years. You will also be asked to provide information about Main Cropping and Second Harvested Cropping during selected survey years. Main Crop is the first crop harvested for a field within a given year. Second Harvested Crop is the second crop harvested from the same land as the main crop within the same calendar year. Example: winter wheat planted in the fall, overwintered, harvested, corn planted and harvested. In this example, winter wheat would be the main crop and corn the second crop because they were both harvested in the same year with wheat being first. If you are unsure which NRI code to select for a given crop, click on the “can’t find a crop?” link in the application.
3. Grassland. A land cover/use category on which the vegetation is dominated by grasses, grass-like plants, and or forbs not defined as rangeland used primarily for the production of introduced or domesticated native forage plants for livestock grazing, erosion control, wildlife habitat or recreation areas.  Cultural practices may include periodic tillage, fertilization, mowing, weed control and irrigation.  It also includes grass based conservation practices greater than one acre in size and wider than 100 feet. This category does not include intensely managed turfgrass areas around home and businesses.
4. Other. The RSL has determined that each point in the Local Data Survey Instrument is either cropland, hayland, grassland, or enrolled in the General CRP. If you disagree with the RSL determination, you will be required to leave a segment note explaining the discrepancy before moving on. If other is checked, no additional information besides the segment note will be required for the point and it will be marked as complete.

You are asked to verify the RSL determination and further questions are formulated based upon this response. FSA and NRCS case files should be used whenever possible to determine the appropriate values. 

Historical data are displayed for all segments (core and rotational).  These data are pre-entered into the table for the 2024 NRI, and may be changed if your records indicate an error was made in prior years.

FSA Case Files: To view the FSA CLU layer and the associated crop history, use the radio buttons located directly below the NRI image to activate the CLU layer. Once you've selected a specific year, you then need to click on the point you are working with to activate the cropping history. You have the option to look at all of the fields for a specific farm and tract or just the farm and tract where the NRI point is located. IMPORTANT NOTE: Each time you change the CLU year, you must click again on the NRI point in order to change the year of the cropping history.

You will not have access to aerial images for every year in that crop history exists. There will only be images for the survey years and the previous years that the segments were included in the survey. (For other year images, Google Earth Pro can now be installed on USDA work stations. Google Earth Pro typically has images from multiple years.) Make sure that the FSA crop agrees with what you believe you are seeing in the image. In years that you don’t have imagery, you’ll be relying solely on the information that the Farm Services Agency has provided.

SPECIAL CASES – Fields A, B, C. The FSA does not always digitize subfields labeled A, B, C, etc. yet there may be entries in the crop history for these fields. In this case, there is only one field designated as 6, but there are entries of soybeans in Field 6A and Grass in Field 6B. Since this is for the year 2018, there is not an aerial image included to help you with your decision. In this case, the best solution is to look for any potential boundary in the field and compare the sizes to the acres listed in the crop history. Since Point 1 lies in the smaller of the two fields, I would make a reasonable estimate that the point was in 5.1 acres of orchard grass in 2018. Feel free to use any additional sources of imagery where it’s available.

Once you have determined the land use for a point in a specific year, enter that land use or crop in the land type/cropping history section.

Some crop categories, such as "all other veg and truck crops" contain many different crop types. A list of specific crop types and their associated crop categories is available by clicking the "Can't find a crop?" button on the bottom of the Land Type & Cropping History section.

CRP Program Participation: If the field was enrolled in General CRP, the sign-up number for each enrollment year will be requested.  You will also be asked to record the major contract cover practice for this field. CRP enrollment options include General CRP, Grassland CRP and Continuous CRP. CRP enrollment type can be determined from the sign-up type column of the FSA records table. Remember, only General CRP contracts are collected as CRP. Continuous CRP and Grassland CRP contracts are coded to respective land use categories (i.e. Cropland, Hayland, and Grassland).

If the FSA records table indicates that the CRP contract is General, select the CRP General Contract option in the Land Type and Cropping History section of LDSI. You will then be prompted to provide the sign-up number. The sign-up number can be obtained from the sign-up number column in the FSA records table.

If the FSA records table indicates the CRP contract is Continuous or Grassland, do not collect Land Type and Cropping History as General CRP. Instead, select the respective Land Use category (i.e. Cropland, Hayland, or Grassland).

If sign-up type and sign-up number are missing: In some cases, a field may be reported as intended use CRP yet sign-up type and sign-up number information are incomplete. When this occurs and the intended use practice is General CRP, use the perennial expiration date to come up with the correct sign-up number. For example, a field belongs to a CP1 (Introduced Grass and Legume Establishment) CRP contract and has a perennial expiration of 2024. Using the CRP Practice Library table, contract length for CP1 is determined to be 10 years and sign-up type is General. Contract expiration (2024) less the contract length (10 years) PLUS ONE will determine the Eligible Program Year (2015) from the CRP Program Participation table in LDSI. Note: Eligible Program Year = Federal Fiscal Year; meaning General CRP contracts begin on October 1st and are attributed to the next full calendar year when determining the start year. Once Program Year is established, the Sign-up Number (45) can be determined from the same table. For those CRP Practices that have a Sign-up Type of “general sign-up (and under certain conditions as a continuous sign- up)”, use General Sign-up except if you know the location is a well head. For the CRP practices that have a length of 10-15 years, choose 10 years if the Sign-up Type is General unless you have evidence otherwise.

Major Contract Cover Practice: The major contract cover practice can be determined by comparing the code in the intended use column to the table of CRP practices.

THE INCLUSION OF THE FSA CLU LAYERS AND CROPPING INFORMATION HAS BEEN ADDED TO HELP FACILITATE DATA COLLECTION AT THE FIELD LEVEL. IT IS BY NO MEANS FOOLPROOF! THE DATA COMES FROM A NATIONAL DATA BASE TAKEN AT A POINT IN TIME. PLEASE CONSIDER THE DATA YOU RECEIVE FROM THE LOCAL FSA OFFICE AS BEING A MORE RELIABLE SOURCE. AS ALWAYS, IF THERE ARE QUESTIONS PERTAINING TO A POINT OR LAND USE, FEEL FREE TO CONTACT THE LOCAL OFFICE. THE CLU LAYER WILL ALLOW YOU TO PROVIDE THE FARM, TRACT, AND FIELD NUMBERS.

Irrigation Practices: If the field was in cropland, grassland or hayland in selected years, you are asked whether the field was irrigated.  If so, you are asked to identify the type of irrigation, the source of the irrigation water, and the water delivery method. There is a column in the FSA cropping information that indicates if a tract is irrigated.

Standard Practice Codes: If the point is impacted by one of nine different conservation practices, you are asked to check which of these practices impacts it. The point does not need to fall directly on the practice in order to be recorded. For example, if the point is on a hillslope that has terraces installed to reduce the slope length, the box ‘600 Terraces’ should be checked. All practices should meet NRCS specifications and standards. Not all conservation practices are recorded in the local data survey instrument. Conservation practices such as grassed waterways, shelterbelt establishment, field borders, etc., that have been determined to be photo interpretable, are recorded at the Remote Sensing Lab. If there has been no change from the previous survey, there is an option to copy the historical information forward to the current survey.

RUSLE2 Management System: You are asked to define the RUSLE2 management system for all points in cropland, hayland, General CRP, or grassland (not range). The RUSLE 2 system selected should be reflective of the planned rotation for that field. NRI is a long term survey that makes long term estimates of soil erosion, thus, it is important to capture the long term crop rotation that is planned and avoid recording the exceptions to the rotation due to climatic events such as floods or droughts.

The local data survey instrument provides the RUSLE 2 management that was entered during the previous survey. To view the specific operations in that management system, click on ‘View Sequence Details’. If the previous system is erroneous, you can make changes by clicking ‘Delete RUSLE2 Sequence’. If there has been no change to the planned crop rotation since the previous survey, check No and move on to the RUSLE2 Support Practices section. You can also copy the RUSLE2 management system from previously completed points in the segment if they are in the same field by clicking ‘Same as… Point X’. If there has been a change to the management system and it does not match any of the rotations identified for the previously completed points, check ‘Yes’ to open the RUSLE 2 Management Sequence window.

RUSLE 2 Management Sequence: Most of the typical RUSLE 2 management systems for each Crop Management Zone have been loaded into the survey instrument. They have been provided by NRCS State Agronomists and State Resource Inventory Coordinators. Using the filters on the sequence dialog box, you can narrow the choice list by the length of the rotation, the first tillage, or the first crop in the rotation.

Once you have identified the management sequence that most closely represents the planned crop rotation, select it by clicking on the green + on the upper left side of the management box. After you have selected it, it will appear at the top of the management sequence window. You can review the sequence of events by holding your cursor over the rotation or look at individual operations by moving the cursor over each flag in the rotation.

The RUSLE 2 Management Sequence Window allows you to build rotations by combining different rotations. For example, you may not find a corn – soybean – oat rotation when you filter by 3 year rotations. To overcome this, choose a two year corn – soybean rotation and then repeat the process to add a one year rotation of oats. It will add the operations for the oats rotation to follow the original corn – soybean sequence.

When combining rotations, it is important to note that one rotation can’t begin before the completion date of the previous rotation. For example, if the harvest date for soybeans is October 2, you will not be allowed to drill a cover crop in September if it’s part of a different management system. The instrument will produce a date adjustment box which will allow you to change the overlapping operations for the two rotations. The first operation of the second rotation must occur after the final operation of the first rotation.

The selected management need not be an exact match but should be the best available choice. If you find a very unique crop rotation that is not available in the survey instrument, contact your State Resource Inventory Coordinator.

RUSLE2 Support Practices: Use drop down menus to list any conservation practices that have been installed that have an impact on total soil loss by water erosion. There are sections for contouring, strips/barriers, diversions/terraces, and subsurface drainage. These are the same practices that are included in the RUSLE2 model worksheets. If there has been no change from the previous survey, there is an option to copy the historical information forward to the current survey.

Wind Erosion Factors (WEQ): If Wind Erosion Equation (WEQ) information has historically been collected for the NRI point you will be asked to provide information on the vegetative cover (V) and ridge roughness (K) factor. NRI wind erosion factors are determined for the critical wind erosion period of the year. In many states, this is in the spring, immediately prior to planting. However, in some states where winter wheat is a common crop, the critical wind erosion period may occur in the fall, prior to planting. Contact your State Agronomist for guidance in determining the V and K factors. V is expressed as pounds per acre in small grain equivalent. The crop residue used to determine V is the residue that has been left in the field during the critical erosion period. Thus, if the critical erosion period is in the Spring, prior to planting, the V factor will be determined using the remaining crop residue from the previous crops.

Notes: Notes should be used to explain unusual circumstances.

Page Layout

The web survey guides you through the set of questions that are appropriate for each point.  Topics are arranged in sequence and each topic must be completed before the instrument will open the next topic.

Confidentiality Agreement: Upon opening the survey instrument, the user is asked to read the NRI confidentiality agreement. By clicking on ‘continue’, the user complies with the provisions of this agreement and is allowed to continue to the data collection screen.

Survey Year: The instrument defaults to the 2024 survey. The 2024 survey contains all core segments and rotational segments.

Instructions and Background, Term Definitions: Links to these instructions and a glossary of NRI terms is located at the upper right hand corner of the Choose Segment page and remains as a link on all data collection pages.

Segment and point ID: The active segment and point are listed at the top of the page.  A link to other points in the segment is available in the Segment Tools box to the right.

Segment tools: In the box in the upper right of the page, several actions can be taken for the NRI sample segment.

• Save Segment: It is recommended that you save your work frequently. You will also be prompted to save your work whenever you close a segment. This will return you to the choose segment page. 
• Close Segment: Optionally saves the data for the segment and makes it available to others, and then displays the Choose Segment page to allow another segment to be selected
• Location Info & FSA Crop History Data: It displays the NRI photographic image with points as well as a Virtual Earth Map for the area
• Switch to...: provides a link to any other points in the segment that are part of the NRI Local Data Survey
• Segment Notes: Click on the segment notes tool to review and enter any unique circumstances involving the data entered for that segment. Notes can be entered for any of the points or the entire segment. You are required to enter an explanatory note for points where you disagree with the RSL Land Type determination. The notes dialog box contains a chronological history of notes entered for that particular segment and a review of these historical notes can be very helpful in completing the survey.

Special instructions: Under each survey topic heading, a brief introduction reminds you of important considerations for answering the survey questions in that section.  In some cases, definitions and additional detail are provided.

Survey question: Below the introduction is a survey question or a table to complete.  You are provided with choice lists or radio button options for nearly all questions.  Sometimes these choice lists are customized using the data you have already provided for the point.  If you have questions about completing the question or table, refer to the help resource links on the survey web page or contact your State Resource Inventory Coordinator. 

+/- Tab: You may return to previously entered sections by clicking on the + icon located on the right side of the individual survey topics. You can always return to any point and edit data until you close it and designate it as complete.

Warnings: Warnings are triggered for unusual circumstances detected as you enter the data.  A blue box with an explanation is displayed below the question or data entry table.  Please review the explanation and data entered before proceeding. You may continue without changing the data. 

Continue Link: At the bottom of the survey is a Continue link to the other points in the segment that need local data collection.

Help resources: At the upper right of the page are links to Term Definitions for the survey as well as these survey instructions. 

Completing a segment: After data have been entered for all eligible points in a segment, you will be asked on the Point Complete section to close the segment.  If you wish to continue to view or make changes to the segment at a later point, you should choose Close Segment and leave it as incomplete. If you have entered all the data and have no further changes to make, choose Close Segment and designate it as complete. Once a segment is designated as complete, it will be removed from the choose segment window and you will no longer be able to access it to make changes.

Time out: The web survey will "time out" after no activity has occurred for 60 minutes. You will need to login again to save data.

Getting Help

Contact your State Resources Inventory Coordinator (SRIC) whenever you have any questions.  Your SRIC has received special training and is prepared to help you complete the survey when special circumstances arise, including if:

• It is difficult to determine which area surrounding the point is to be assessed,
• No or incomplete file information exists for the field or area associated with the NRI sample point,
• No or incomplete information is available on RUSLE2 management systems, and
• The survey choice list does not include an answer that you think is appropriate.