nass.usda.gov APInass.usda.gov ↗
Access USDA NASS QuickStats parameter discovery, publications calendar, and Cropland Data Layer download links via 3 structured endpoints. No API key required.
curl -X GET 'https://api.parse.bot/scraper/55100b29-3e49-45e3-89e0-bfb55ac41e47/quickstats_discover_params?sector_desc=CROPS&target_param=commodity_desc' \ -H 'X-API-Key: $PARSE_API_KEY'
Discover valid parameter values for building QuickStats queries using the keyless internal web API. No NASS API key required. Returns all accepted values for a target parameter, optionally filtered by sector.
| Param | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| sector_desc | string | Filter values by sector. Accepted values: ANIMALS & PRODUCTS, CROPS, DEMOGRAPHICS, ECONOMICS, ENVIRONMENTAL. |
| target_param | string | The parameter to discover values for (e.g., sector_desc, group_desc, commodity_desc, state_alpha, statisticcat_desc, agg_level_desc). |
{
"type": "object",
"fields": {
"values": "array of objects with 'value' and 'label' string fields",
"parameter": "string, the target parameter that was queried"
},
"sample": {
"data": {
"values": [
{
"label": "ANIMALS & PRODUCTS",
"value": "ANIMALS & PRODUCTS"
},
{
"label": "CROPS",
"value": "CROPS"
},
{
"label": "DEMOGRAPHICS",
"value": "DEMOGRAPHICS"
},
{
"label": "ECONOMICS",
"value": "ECONOMICS"
},
{
"label": "ENVIRONMENTAL",
"value": "ENVIRONMENTAL"
}
],
"parameter": "sector_desc"
},
"status": "success"
}
}About the nass.usda.gov API
This API exposes 3 endpoints covering USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) data: parameter discovery for the QuickStats database, a publications calendar, and Cropland Data Layer (CDL) download links. The quickstats_discover_params endpoint returns all accepted values for any QuickStats filter parameter — sector, commodity, state, statistic category, and more — without requiring a NASS API key. Coverage spans crop production, livestock, farm economics, and geospatial land-use layers from 2008 onward.
QuickStats Parameter Discovery
The quickstats_discover_params endpoint returns valid values for any QuickStats query parameter, such as sector_desc, group_desc, commodity_desc, state_alpha, or statisticcat_desc. Each response includes a values array of objects with value and label fields, plus a parameter string confirming which field was queried. You can narrow results by passing a sector_desc filter — accepted values are CROPS, ANIMALS & PRODUCTS, DEMOGRAPHICS, ECONOMICS, and ENVIRONMENTAL. This makes it straightforward to enumerate exactly which commodity names, state codes, or statistic categories exist before constructing a downstream QuickStats query.
Publications Calendar
The get_publications_calendar endpoint returns scheduled NASS report releases for a given month and year. Pass year in YYYY format and month in zero-padded MM format. The response includes a reports array where each object contains a title, a url linking to the calendar landing page, and a params field. This is useful for tracking when crop production estimates, livestock inventories, or census releases are scheduled to publish.
Cropland Data Layer Downloads
The get_cropland_data_layer_links endpoint requires no inputs and returns cdl_resources: an array of objects with title (a description that includes file size) and url (a direct download link) fields. Resources cover national CDLs at both 10m and 30m resolution, cultivated layers, frequency layers, and confidence layers from 2008 to the present in GeoTIFF/ZIP format. These files are suitable for GIS workflows, land-use analysis, and agricultural mapping applications.
- Enumerate all valid commodity names in the CROPS sector before building a QuickStats data pull
- Monitor the NASS publications calendar to trigger alerts when new crop production reports are scheduled
- Download Cropland Data Layer GeoTIFFs for multi-year land-use change analysis
- Build a state-level agricultural dashboard by iterating over all valid
state_alphavalues returned by parameter discovery - Identify which statistic categories (e.g., AREA HARVESTED, YIELD) are available for a given commodity
- Automate ingestion of annual CDL confidence layers for validating crop classification models
- Track upcoming NASS livestock inventory and farm economics report dates for research scheduling
| Tier | Price | Credits/month | Rate limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0/mo | 100 | 5 req/min |
| Hobby | $30/mo | 1,000 | 20 req/min |
| Developer | $100/mo | 5,000 | 250 req/min |
One credit = one API call regardless of which marketplace API you call. Exceeding the rate limit returns a 429 response. Authenticate with the X-API-Key header.
Does USDA NASS have an official developer API?+
What does `quickstats_discover_params` return when I pass a `sector_desc` filter?+
values array scoped to that sector, where each entry has a value string (the raw parameter value) and a label string. The parameter field in the response confirms which QuickStats field was queried. For example, filtering by sector_desc=CROPS and target_param=commodity_desc returns only crop commodity names.Does the API return the actual statistical data from QuickStats — yields, production volumes, prices?+
How current are the Cropland Data Layer links returned by `get_cropland_data_layer_links`?+
title field includes file size, which can help distinguish annual updates from archived layers.Can I filter the publications calendar by report type or crop sector?+
get_publications_calendar endpoint accepts only year and month parameters; filtering by report type or sector is not currently supported. Each report object includes a title and url field that can be used for client-side filtering. You can fork the API on Parse and revise it to add category-based filtering if the calendar source exposes that structure.