Upwind Report

Glyphosate use in Fresno County, California

Reported farm glyphosate use in Fresno County, California was 316 pounds per square mile of county land in 2019, higher than 84% of US counties.

Map of Fresno County, California and nearby counties, coloring each county's cropland by estimated farm glyphosate use per square mile of county land in 2019 reported use. Darker colors mean more use.

2019 numbers

Per square mile of county land316lbTop 16% in the US
US
476th of 3,060
California
5th of 56
Per square mile of cropland828lb

Ranks are by use per square mile of county land, on the 2019 high estimate, among US counties with a value. Counties with the same value share a rank.

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A picture of Fresno County against the US county median, with the source, to post or send.

Since 2000

Up from 90 in 2000 to 316 in 2019. Pounds per square mile of county land, high estimate.

Every year's numbers
Glyphosate per square mile of county land by year, in pounds
YearLowHigh
20009090
20018383
2002167167
20039494
2004107107
2005136136
2006151151
2007138138
2008131131
2009135135
2010179179
2011214214
2012236236
2013231231
2014222222
2015238238
2016255255
2017270270
2018299299
2019316316
See Fresno County on the map

About these numbers

The main number is the county's estimated farm glyphosate use for the year divided by all of its land, water left out. A county with a little farmland can use a lot per square mile of cropland and still have far less in total than a county with more farmland, so the whole-county number is the one the map colors, ranks and compares.

These are county estimates, not records. They don't show which fields were sprayed or how much any one field got.

California's numbers are the state's own reported use, which USGS uses in place of an estimate, so the low and high numbers are the same.

Per square mile of cropland is the same total spread evenly over the county's cropland only, so it's higher than the whole-county number wherever only part of Fresno County, California is farmland.

Numbers are in pounds per square mile. The source gives kilograms per square kilometer, and 1 kg per km² is about 5.7 pounds per square mile.

Source: Hengl & Brungard from USGS county estimates, 2000–2019 (CC BY 4.0). Land area: US Census Bureau, 2020.

This page shows estimated farm use only. It says nothing about health and is not medical advice.