Measuring land-use and land-cover change using the U.S. department of agriculture’s cropland data layer: Cautions and recommendations

•The USDA Cropland Data Layer is useful for many U.S. land cover change applications.•A systematic crop underestimation bias may confound analyses if not corrected.•Utilizing identified good practices can quantifiably improve accuracy of results.•The provided cautions and recommendations serve as a guide for further development.