Upwind Report

Glyphosate use in O'Brien County, Iowa

Estimated farm glyphosate use in O'Brien County, Iowa was 395 pounds per square mile of county land in 2019, higher than 89% of US counties.

Map of O'Brien 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 land395lbTop 11% in the US
US
318th of 3,060
Iowa
54th of 99
Per square mile of cropland400lb

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 O'Brien County against the US county median, with the source, to post or send.

Since 2000

Up from 90 in 2000 to 395 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
2001124130
2002215215
2003300300
2004328328
2005277277
2006356356
2007441441
2008531531
2009486486
2010577577
2011565565
2012543543
2013616616
2014633639
2015559559
2016554554
2017542542
2018475475
2019395395
See O'Brien 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 O'Brien 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.