NAIP Imagery in Missouri

The Missouri Office of Geospatial Information and the Missouri GIS Advisory Council’s Data Development Committee have sponsored leaf-off imagery projects in the years 1995, 2008/2009, 2015/2016, 2022 (southern 2/3, northern 1/3 completed 2023).

Users looking for alternative sources of imagery should explore the leaf-on data collected through the  National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP) . NAIP is a federal program managed by the US Department of Agriculture, Farm Service Agency. NAIP imagery is collected during the growing season while the crops are detected in the fields, and leaves are on the trees. A leaf-on product is needed both for agricultural purposes, as well as managing the health of the state's extensive forested areas.

NAIP imagery is available for Missouri for every year, 2002 - 2007, 2009 then alternating on the even years, 2010 - 2020 as a streamed  image service  from MSDIS.

The 2022 NAIP imagery is available as a streamed  image service  from the USDA.

NAIP Imagery collected while fields and forests are green is attractive, but especially under the tree canopy, is nearly useless for identifying manmade structures. The roads and streams in the forested sample above are nearly indistinguishable. Accurate calculations based on measurement on the surface of the earth are not always possible.

Besides NAIP imagery hosted as an image service, film archives go back as far as 1955. View the  USDA Image Catalog  site for additional information.

Because this federal program only collected imagery during the growing season, Missouri will continue to sponsor regular leaf-off projects for applications that require a clear view of the earth's surface.