Method for Estimating Pesticide Use for County Areas of the Conterminous United States

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
Open-File Report 00-250
Sacramento, California, 2000

CONTENTS

Abstract
Introduction
Background
Purpose And Scope
Approach
Environmental Framework
The National Center for Food and Agricultural Policy's State Pesticide Use Database
Method For Estimating County Pesticide Use
Census of Agriculture
Calculation of County Pesticide Use Estimates
Limitations of the County Pesticide Use Data for Water-Quality Assessment
Summaries of Pesticide Use
The National Water-Quality Assessment's Study Unit Summaries
Map Displays of Pesticide Use Data
Summary
References

Figure

• Locations of National Water-Quality Assessment Program study units for which pesticide use estimates were developed two National Water-Quality Assessment Program study units
• Seven records associated with Steele County, Minnesota, which display the area of the county associated with two national Water-Quality Assessment Program study units
• Eastern Iowa Study Unit
• Calculating a crop weighting factor for a county and a basin
• Average annual amount of active ingredient of acetochlor (A) and metolachlor (B) applied to cropland and pasture area in a county
• Average annual amount of active ingredient of methyl bromide (A) and chlorpyrifos (B) applied to cropland and pasture area in a county
• Average annual atrazine use applied to cropland categories mapped from Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer data

Tables

• Pesticide codes for compound names contained in the National Center for Food and Agricultural Policy's 1992-1995 state database.
  
• Crop codes and crop names with corresponding Census of Agriculture data codes.
  total application in pounds active ingredient in descending order.
• Summary of national pesticide use, 1992-1995, derived from county pesticide use information sorted by total application in pounds active ingredient in descending order.
  
• Primary crops that account for use of each pesticide, 1992­1995.
• Ranking of pesticides used in National Water-Quality Assessment Program study units during 1992-1995