Upwind Report

Glyphosate use in Shelby County, Iowa

Estimated farm glyphosate use in Shelby County, Iowa was 593 pounds per square mile of county land in 2019, higher than 98% of US counties.

Map of Shelby 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 land593lbTop 2% in the US
US
52nd of 3,060
Iowa
4th of 99
Per square mile of cropland594lb

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

Since 2000

Up from 125 in 2000 to 593 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
2000125125
2001165171
2002188188
2003211211
2004279279
2005228228
2006273273
2007359359
2008490490
2009473473
2010490496
2011525525
2012604604
2013656661
2014610610
2015599599
2016604604
2017576576
2018513513
2019593593
See Shelby 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 Shelby 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.