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Agricultural prices, and to

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some extent food prices,

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depend on global supply and demand.

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You think about oil

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markets or gold markets.

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Well, there's

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a huge corn and soybean

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market and a wheat market as well too.

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Our farmers have global markets,

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and understanding the food supply

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in other countries is critical

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to setting those prices

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so our farmers know what to plant,

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how much money they're going to make

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if they plant.

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Each month we produce

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the WASDE report

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 World Agricultural Supply

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and Demand Estimates.

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This has been a report

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which allows

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everybody in the marketplace

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to be on an equal footing once a month

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throughout the year.

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We combine NASA

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satellite data with ground

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observations, meteorology data,

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other sources of data

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to create the WASDE report.

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The data NASA provides to USDA helps

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make the World Agriculture Supply

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and Demand Estimates

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the most accurate view of global food

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production possible.

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There are many countries

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for which

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we rely a lot on NASA

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data, Earth observation data

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in order to assess crops and locations

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we can't easily get to.

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With NASA's view from space,

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we can see

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crop production

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across every major agriculture

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region on Earth.

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This data also benefits farmers

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in many significant ways

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if they need to grow another crop

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that may be better suited for their area,

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or it might be more profitable

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for them to grow a different crop.

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We're a big exporter

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of agricultural products

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here in the United States.

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Agricultural producers

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pride themselves

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as being suppliers to the world,

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and so they need to know

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what the world wants from them.

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And this is the way they can assess

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what that global demand is.

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We can spot potential problems

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before harvest,

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whether it's a drought in the Midwest

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or flooding in Asia.

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This data is used by USDA to create

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a snapshot of crop production worldwide.

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This early warning system is critical

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for keeping the markets calm.

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It allows the market

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to respond as quickly as possible

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to these supply shocks,

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which sometimes threaten food

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security in some countries.

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I'm going to bet

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that most people aren't concerned

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with the cost of wheat futures,

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or what

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the Corn Volatility Index

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is while they're grocery shopping,

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but they are concerned about the sticker

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shock at the cost of bread

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or cereal at the checkout.

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By keeping watch on the world's

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food supply,

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NASA's doing its part

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to keep food on the table.