Upwind Report

Glyphosate use in Benton County, Iowa

Estimated farm glyphosate use in Benton County, Iowa was 459 pounds per square mile of county land in 2019, higher than 93% of US counties.

Map of Benton County, Iowa and nearby counties, coloring each county's cropland by estimated farm glyphosate use per square mile of county land in the 2019 high estimate. Darker colors mean more use.

2019 numbers

Per square mile of county land459lbTop 7% in the US
US
201st of 3,060
Iowa
27th of 99
Per square mile of cropland480lb

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 Benton County against the US county median, with the source, to post or send.

Since 2000

Up from 153 in 2000 to 459 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
2000153153
2001202207
2002207207
2003251251
2004229229
2005196196
2006262262
2007284284
2008452452
2009426426
2010486486
2011459459
2012502502
2013562562
2014502502
2015535535
2016502502
2017519519
2018464464
2019459459
See Benton 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.

USGS makes a low and a high estimate, which fill in use that farms didn't report in different ways.

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 Benton County, Iowa 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.