Upwind Report

Glyphosate use in Calhoun County, Iowa

Estimated farm glyphosate use in Calhoun County, Iowa was 621 pounds per square mile of county land in 2019, higher than 98% of US counties.

Map of Calhoun 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 land621lbTop 2% in the US
US
36th of 3,060
Iowa
1st of 99
Per square mile of cropland622lb

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.

Share image

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

Since 2000

Up from 148 in 2000 to 621 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
2000148148
2001199199
2002211211
2003245245
2004308308
2005245245
2006291291
2007365365
2008513513
2009484490
2010501501
2011530530
2012598598
2013649649
2014621621
2015627627
2016615621
2017575575
2018541541
2019621621
See Calhoun 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 Calhoun 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.