USDA Releases Pesticide Study Findings

The USDA Economic Research Service released findings from a pesticide use study. Over the last five decades, pesticide use on corn, soybeans and other crops, as well as active ingredients, has changed dramatically in U.S. agriculture, including herbicide, insecticide and fungicide use.

Economic Information Bulletin No. (EIB-124), issued May 2014, examines trends in conventional pesticide use in U.S. agriculture from 1960 to 2008, focusing on 21 crops that account for more than 70% of pesticide use. The report identifies the factors affecting these trends and examines such issues as pesticide expenditure, changes in the types and quantities of pesticides applied, the amount of acreage to which they were applied, and the correlation to production of specific crops treated with various pesticides.

To download the full report or read a summary of the findings, visit 1.usa.gov/1pcEHtD.