Upwind Report

Glyphosate use in Lee County, Iowa

Estimated farm glyphosate use in Lee County, Iowa was 251 pounds per square mile of county land in 2019, higher than 79% of US counties.

Map of Lee 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 land251lbTop 21% in the US
US
638th of 3,060
Iowa
81st of 99
Per square mile of cropland320lb

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

Since 2000

Up from 117 in 2000 to 251 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
2000113117
2001158162
2002149149
2003162162
2004153153
2005185189
2006135135
2007198198
2008216221
2009234239
2010221221
2011260264
2012337337
2013282282
2014323323
2015278278
2016313313
2017309309
2018246246
2019251251
See Lee 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 Lee 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.