Upwind Report

Glyphosate use in Polk County, Nebraska

Estimated farm glyphosate use in Polk County, Nebraska was 512 pounds per square mile of county land in 2019, higher than 96% of US counties.

Map of Polk County, Nebraska 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 land512lbTop 4% in the US
US
113th of 3,060
Nebraska
21st of 93
Per square mile of cropland571lb

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

Since 2000

Up from 173 in 2000 to 512 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
2000173173
2001153158
2002173173
2003245245
2004255255
2005280280
2006275275
2007265265
2008444449
2009471471
2010532537
2011532542
2012538538
2013532532
2014548553
2015578584
2016558558
2017533533
2018548548
2019512512
See Polk 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 Polk County, Nebraska 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.