Midwest U.S. Fertilizer Data, 1985-2015

Sulfur, as an essential nutrient for plant growth, has increasingly been used in fertilizer applications for many crops. This increase is coincident with declines in atmospheric sulfur deposition in response to air quality improvements in the United States and Europe. Here, we provide data for sulfur fertilizer sales by mass, as a proxy for fertilizer application, and provide data to estimate total atmospheric sulfur deposition across the Midwestern United States, a 12-state region that includes: Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. In addition, we provide data on other major nutrient fertilizers, including nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, to compare with sulfur. Fertilizer data are from the American Association for Plant Food Control Officials (AAPFCO) and are aggregated from the county-level to the 12-state Midwestern region for the period of 1985-2015.