Upwind Report

Glyphosate use in Palo Alto County, Iowa

Estimated farm glyphosate use in Palo Alto County, Iowa was 383 pounds per square mile of county land in 2019, higher than 88% of US counties.

Map of Palo Alto 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 land383lbTop 12% in the US
US
345th of 3,060
Iowa
59th of 99
Per square mile of cropland388lb

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

Since 2000

Up from 84 in 2000 to 383 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
20008484
2001118118
2002191191
2003270270
2004304304
2005253253
2006321321
2007417417
2008490495
2009462462
2010552552
2011529529
2012636636
2013563563
2014608608
2015551551
2016518518
2017574579
2018433433
2019383383
See Palo Alto 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 Palo Alto 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.