1997 County Pesticide Use Estimates for 220 Compounds

This dataset includes information for 220 pesticides on the
average amount (pounds) applied to 87 agricultural crops and
the acres of crops treated for counties within the conterminous
United States. These data were derived by combining published
state pesticide use coefficients published by the National
Center for Food and Agricultural Policy (NCFAP) and county
harvested crop acres available from the 1997 Census of Agriculture.
A description of the methods used to develop the county datbase
is published in USGS OFR 00-250, "Method for Estimating Pesticide Use"
and is available from: http://pubs.er.usgs.gov/pubs/of/ofr00250.
Maps showing the geographic distribution of use for 219 compounds
(BT was not mapped) are available from http://ca.water.usgs.gov/pnsp/.
The pesticide use estimates represent average usage patterns
for the years 1995-1998 and do not represent a specific year.
Key limitations of the data include: (1) state use coefficients
represent an average for the entire state and consequently
do not reflect the local variability of pesticide management
practices found within states and counties, (2) pesticide use
estimates are not for a specific year, but represent typical
use patterns for a four year period, (3) state pesticide
use coefficients may not have been available for all states
where a pesticide may have been applied to agricultural land
and therefore are not included, and (4) the county crop acreage
is based on the 1997 Census of Agriculture and may not represent
all crop acreage due to Census nondisclosure rules.