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Elvia Thompson
Headquarters, Washington        March 5, 2003
(Phone: 202/358-1696)

Sandy Miller-Hays
USDA
(Phone: 301/504-1636

RELEASE: 03-093

NASA PARTNERS WITH USDA ON VARIETY OF PROJECTS

     NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe and Agriculture Secretary (USDA) 
Ann M. Veneman announced the two agencies will join forces on a series 
of programs drawing on NASA's capabilities in monitoring, mapping, 
modeling and systems engineering to help protect the environment and 
enhance American agriculture's ability to compete in the world market.

NASA and USDA representatives participated in a workshop this week in 
Denver to identify collaborative research and development programs for 
the joint program. The workshop concentrated on five "focus areas" 
identified as national priorities of mutual interest: carbon 
management, agricultural competitiveness, air quality, water 
management and conservation, and management of invasive species. 

"NASA is pleased to be part of this worthwhile effort, benefiting all 
Americans and humankind in general," said NASA Administrator Sean 
O'Keefe. "NASA's ability to view the Earth from the unique vantage 
point of space provides data to enhance our ability to predict 
climate, weather and natural hazards, as well as to mitigate and 
assess the effects of natural and human-induced disasters. As NASA 
works to understand and protect our home planet, the relevant and
concise information we provide will allow USDA and other U.S. 
government agencies to make critical, accurate, and timely decisions," 
he said. 

"We in USDA are very excited about the possibilities opened up by this 
new collaboration," Veneman said.  "For example, to improve our 
agricultural competitiveness, we need a better understanding of 
weather and climate, especially the ability to predict weather events 
with more accuracy and longer lead times. The results from NASA 
research and development of earth science and technology could lead to 
weather and climate predictions and observations that can be 
integrated into local and regional support systems used in 
agricultural management," she said.

Participants discussed USDA policy and program needs that might be 
fulfilled by remote sensing information provided by NASA; identified 
current research and capabilities of both NASA and USDA that could 
help address those needs; pinpointed gaps in existing knowledge and 
research. They also outlined opportunities for collaborative research 
and development efforts between USDA and NASA to develop products and
solutions to serve decision makers.

Information from this week's workshop will be used by a USDA/NASA 
Interagency Working Group in evaluating and establishing new research 
efforts, remote sensing systems, and models for decision support in 
agricultural systems. The information resulting from the workshop will 
also be incorporated into the plans of NASA's Earth Science
Enterprise, which seeks to meet NASA's mission of understanding and 
protecting our home planet. 

For more information about NASA or NASA's Earth Science Enterprise on 
the Internet, visit:            http://www.nasa.gov

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