RapidEye has been named as the latest addition to the Prime Vendor Contract by the International Production and Assessment Division (IPAD), Office of Global Analysis (OGA), Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS), U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Under the contract, RapidEye will be providing the IPAD/Office of Global Analysis/FAS/USDA with their levels 1B and 3A satellite imagery products. This will give them the ability to order imagery either from RapidEye’s existing archive (the RapidEye Library), or the option of tasking the RapidEye constellation of satellites if an area they are interested in has not been imaged.

The IPAD/Office of Global Analysis/FAS/USDA is responsible for global crop condition assessments and estimates of area, yield, and production for grains, oilseeds, and cotton. The primary mission of OGA is to target, collect, analyze, and disseminate timely, objective, useful, and cost-effective global crop condition and agricultural market intelligence information. One of OGA’s key missions is to provide unbiased commodity estimates and forecasts to create a marketing edge for U.S. producers in world markets. The Prime Vendor Contract vehicle allows them to obtain agriculture analysis solutions using satellite imagery and ancillary information quickly and cost effectively.