The cloud-corrected NDVI data extracted from historical MODIS satellite images at 250 metre resolution provides reliable, objective, and timely information on the state of vegetation throughout Canada and the northern United States. The methodology applied to the images has remained the same as for the program formerly known as the Crop Condition Assessment Program (CCAP).
Since the 2000 growing season, Statistics Canada has been processing and compiling MODerate-resolution Imaging Spectoradiometer (MODIS) data (250 metre resolution). The Multi-Spectral Instrument (MSI) captures two spectral bands (red and infrared) that have proven to be extremely useful to produce the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) utilized for vegetation monitoring. The original NDVI image composites were produced by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (link to original data in the resources section). Additional computations were completed by Statistics Canada to remove the effects of residual clouds and to calculate and extract the NDVI by geographic region.
This dataset provides access to the MODIS images from 2000 to present in GeoTIFF format and covers the crop area during the growing season (Julian weeks 15 to 37; mid-April to mid-September). It also provides access to a database that contains the statistical NDVI by geographic regions (Townships, Census Consolidated Subdivisions (CCS), Census Divisions (CD) and Census Agricultural Regions (CAR)) and agricultural masks (Agriculture (AGR), Crop (CROP) and Pasture (PAS)).