IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ags/uersib/178462.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Pesticide Use in U.S. Agriculture: 21 Selected Crops, 1960-2008

Author

Listed:
  • Fernandez-Cornejo, Jorge
  • Nehring, Richard
  • Osteen, Craig
  • Wechsler, Seth James
  • Martin, Andrew
  • Vialou, Alex

Abstract

Pesticide use has changed considerably over the past five decades. Rapid growth characterized the first 20 years, ending in 1981. The total quantity of pesticides applied to the 21 crops analyzed grew from 196 million pounds of pesticide active ingredients in 1960 to 632 million pounds in 1981. Improvements in the types and modes of action of active ingredients applied along with small annual fluctuations resulted in a slight downward trend in pesticide use to 516 million pounds in 2008. These changes were driven by economic factors that determined crop and input prices and were influenced by pest pressures, environmental and weather conditions, crop acreages, agricultural practices (including adoption of genetically engineered crops), access to land-grant extension personnel and crop consultants, the cost-effectiveness of pesticides and other practices in protecting crop yields and quality, technological innovations in pest management systems/practices, and environmental and health regulations. Emerging pest management policy issues include the development of glyphosate-resistant weed populations associated with the large increase in glyphosate use since the late 1990s, the development of Bt-resistant western corn rootworm in some areas, and the arrival of invasive or exotic pest species,such as soybean aphid and soybean rust, which can influence pesticide use patterns and the development of Integrated Pest Management programs.

Suggested Citation

  • Fernandez-Cornejo, Jorge & Nehring, Richard & Osteen, Craig & Wechsler, Seth James & Martin, Andrew & Vialou, Alex, 2014. "Pesticide Use in U.S. Agriculture: 21 Selected Crops, 1960-2008," Economic Information Bulletin 178462, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:uersib:178462
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.178462
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/178462/files/eib124.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.22004/ag.econ.178462?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Alfons Oude Lansink & Alain Carpentier, 2001. "Damage Control Productivity: An Input Damage Abatement Approach," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 52(3), pages 11-22, September.
    2. Jorge Fernandez-Cornejo & Sharon Jans & Mark Smith, 1998. "Issues in the Economics of Pesticide Use in Agriculture: A Review of the Empirical Evidence," Review of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 20(2), pages 462-488.
    3. Eichers, Theodore & Andrilenas, Paul & Jenkins, Robert & Fox, Austin, 1968. "Quantities of Pesticides Used by Farmers in 1964," Agricultural Economic Reports 307356, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    4. Horowitz, John K. & Ebel, Robert M. & Ueda, Kohei, 2010. ""No-Till" Farming Is a Growing Practice," Economic Information Bulletin 96636, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    5. Harry F. Campbell, 1976. "Estimating the Marginal Productivity of Agricultural Pesticides: the Case of Tree-Fruit Farms in the Okanagan Valley," Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics/Revue canadienne d'agroeconomie, Canadian Agricultural Economics Society/Societe canadienne d'agroeconomie, vol. 24(2), pages 23-30, July.
    6. Usda Ers, 1978. "Situation & Outlook," Food Review/ National Food Review, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, vol. 0(01), April.
    7. Foreman, Linda F., 2006. "Characteristics and Production Costs of U.S. Corn Farms, 2001," Economic Information Bulletin 7205, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    8. Catalina Carrasco-Tauber & L. Joe Moffitt, 1992. "Damage Control Econometrics: Functional Specification and Pesticide Productivity," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 74(1), pages 158-162.
    9. Osteen, Craig D. & Szmedra, Philip I., 1989. "Agricultural Pesticide Use Trends and Policy Issues," Agricultural Economic Reports 308081, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    10. Eichers, Theodore & Andrilenas, Paul & Blake, Helen & Jenkins, Robert & Fox, Austin, 1970. "Quantities of Pesticides Used by Farmers in 1966," Agricultural Economic Reports 307401, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    11. Fuglie, Keith O., 1999. "Conservation Tillage And Pesticide Use In The Cornbelt," Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics, Southern Agricultural Economics Association, vol. 31(01), pages 1-15, April.
    12. Claassen, Roger & Carriazo, Fernando & Cooper, Joseph C. & Hellerstein, Daniel & Ueda, Kohei, 2011. "Grassland to Cropland Conversion in the Northern Plains: The Role of Crop Insurance, Commodity, and Disaster Programs," Economic Research Report 262239, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    13. Usda Ers, 1978. "Situation & Outlook," Food Review/ National Food Review, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, vol. 0(01), June.
    14. Fernandez-Cornejo, Jorge & Alexander, Corinne E. & Goodhue, Rachael E., 2002. "Dynamic Diffusion with Disadoption: The Case of Crop Biotechnology in the USA," Agricultural and Resource Economics Review, Northeastern Agricultural and Resource Economics Association, vol. 31(01), pages 1-15, April.
    15. Usda Ers, 1978. "Situation & Outlook," Food Review/ National Food Review, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, vol. 0(01), September.
    16. Teague, Mark L. & Brorsen, B. Wade, 1995. "Pesticide Productivity: What Are The Trends?," Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics, Southern Agricultural Economics Association, vol. 27(01), pages 1-7, July.
    17. Jorge Fernandez-Cornejo & Sharon Jans, 1995. "Quality-Adjusted Price and Quantity Indices for Pesticides," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 77(3), pages 645-659.
    18. Fernandez-Cornejo, Jorge & McBride, William D., 2002. "Adoption Of Bioengineered Crops," Agricultural Economic Reports 33957, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    19. Carriazo, Fernando & Claassen, Roger & Cooper, Joseph C. & Hellerstein, Daniel & Ueda, Kohei, 2010. "Grassland to Cropland Conversion in the Northern Plains: The Role of Markets and Policy," 2010 Annual Meeting, July 25-27, 2010, Denver, Colorado 61625, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    20. JunJie Wu, 1999. "Crop Insurance, Acreage Decisions, and Nonpoint-Source Pollution," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 81(2), pages 305-320.
    21. Usa Ers, 1984. "Situation and Outlook," Food Review/ National Food Review, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, vol. 0(01), March.
    22. Gardner, Justin G. & Nelson, Carl H., 2007. "Genetically Modified Crops and Labor Savings in US Crop Production," 2007 Annual Meeting, February 4-7, 2007, Mobile, Alabama 34919, Southern Agricultural Economics Association.
    23. Fernandez-Cornejo, Jorge & Wechsler, Seth James, 2012. "Revisiting the Impact of Bt Corn Adoption by U.S. Farmers," Agricultural and Resource Economics Review, Northeastern Agricultural and Resource Economics Association, vol. 41(3), pages 1-14, December.
    24. Osteen, Craig D. & Vasavada, Utpal, 2012. "Agricultural Resources and Environmental Indicators, 2012 Edition," Economic Information Bulletin 132048, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Martha E. Richmond, 2018. "Glyphosate: A review of its global use, environmental impact, and potential health effects on humans and other species," Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, Springer;Association of Environmental Studies and Sciences, vol. 8(4), pages 416-434, December.
    2. Putman, Ben & Thoma, Greg & Burek, Jasmina & Matlock, Marty, 2017. "A retrospective analysis of the United States poultry industry: 1965 compared with 2010," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 157(C), pages 107-117.
    3. Centner, Terence J. & Brewer, Brady & Leal, Isaac, 2018. "Reducing damages from sulfoxaflor use through mitigation measures to increase the protection of pollinator species," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 70-76.
    4. Scott M. Swinton & Braeden Deynze, 2017. "Hoes to Herbicides: Economics of Evolving Weed Management in the United States," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 29(3), pages 560-574, July.
    5. Affuso, Ermanno & Hite, Diane & Wilson, Norbert W.L., 2015. "A Stochastic Frontier Analysis To Examine Research Priorities For Genetically Engineered Peanuts," Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 47(3), pages 359-381, August.
    6. V. Eldon Ball & Richard Nehring & Sun Ling Wang, 2016. "Productivity Growth in U.S. Agriculture: 1948-2013," International Productivity Monitor, Centre for the Study of Living Standards, vol. 30, pages 64-76, Spring.
    7. Lee, Seungki & Moschini, GianCarlo & Perry, Edward D., 2023. "Genetically engineered varieties and applied pesticide toxicity in U.S. maize and soybeans: Heterogeneous and evolving impacts," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 211(C).
    8. Gu, Xi & Marsh, Thomas L., 2017. "Pesticide Substitution Under Maximum Residue Limits: Application to Hops Production," 2017 Annual Meeting, July 30-August 1, Chicago, Illinois 258572, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    9. Stephen Jess & David I. Matthews & Archie K. Murchie & Michael K. Lavery, 2018. "Pesticide Use in Northern Ireland’s Arable Crops from 1992–2016 and Implications for Future Policy Development," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 8(8), pages 1-16, August.
    10. Anita Alves Pena & Bryanna Dixon, 2022. "Pesticide exposure and the physical and economic health of US crop workers," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 44(4), pages 2087-2114, December.
    11. Fletcher, Jason & Noghanibehambari, Hamid, 2024. "The siren song of cicadas: Early-life pesticide exposure and later-life male mortality," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 123(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Fadhuile, Adelaide & Lemarie, Stephane & Pirotte, Alain, 2011. "Pesticides Uses in Crop Production: What Can We Learn from French Farmers Practices?," 2011 Annual Meeting, July 24-26, 2011, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 103654, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    2. Sylvie Bonny, 2011. "Herbicide-tolerant Transgenic Soybean over 15 Years of Cultivation: Pesticide Use, Weed Resistance, and Some Economic Issues. The Case of the USA," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 3(9), pages 1-21, August.
    3. Robert G. Chambers & Giannis Karagiannis & Vangelis Tzouvelekas, 2009. "Yet Another Look at Pest Damage and Pesticide Productivity," Working Papers 0911, University of Crete, Department of Economics.
    4. MacDonald, James M. & Korb, Penni & Hoppe, Robert A., 2013. "Farm Size and the Organization of U.S. Crop Farming," Economic Research Report 262221, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    5. Schmitz Andrew & Haynes Dwayne J. & Schmitz Troy G., 2013. "Benefit-cost analysis: government compensation vs. consumer tax model," Journal of Benefit-Cost Analysis, De Gruyter, vol. 4(3), pages 375-389, December.
    6. Fernandez-Cornejo, Jorge & Livingston, Michael J. & Mitchell, Lorraine & Wechsler, Seth, 2014. "Genetically Engineered Crops in the United States," Economic Research Report 164263, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    7. Karagiannis, Giannis & Tsionas, Efthimios & Tzouvelekas, Vangelis, 2005. "Efficiency in Damage Control Inputs: A Stochastic Production Frontier Approach," 2005 International Congress, August 23-27, 2005, Copenhagen, Denmark 24642, European Association of Agricultural Economists.
    8. Serra, Teresa & Zilberman, David & Goodwin, Barry K. & Featherstone, Allen M., 2005. "Effects of Decoupling on the Average and the Variability of Output," 2005 International Congress, August 23-27, 2005, Copenhagen, Denmark 24601, European Association of Agricultural Economists.
    9. Alfons Lansink & Elvira Silva, 2004. "Non-Parametric Production Analysis of Pesticides Use in the Netherlands," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 21(1), pages 49-65, January.
    10. Miao, Ruiqing & Hennessy, David A. & Feng, Hongli, 2016. "The Effects of Crop Insurance Subsidies and Sodsaver on Land-Use Change," Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Western Agricultural Economics Association, vol. 41(2), May.
    11. Wade, Tara & Kurkalova, Lyubov & Secchi, Silvia, 2016. "Modeling Field-Level Conservation Tillage Adoption with Aggregate Choice Data," Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Western Agricultural Economics Association, vol. 41(2), May.
    12. Mitchell, Paul D., 2011. "Economic Assessment of the Benefits of Chloro-s-triazine Herbicides to U.S. Corn, Sorghum, and Sugarcane Producers," Staff Paper Series 564, University of Wisconsin, Agricultural and Applied Economics.
    13. Margarita Genius & Phoebe Koundouri & Céline Nauges & Vangelis Tzouvelekas, 2014. "Information Transmission in Irrigation Technology Adoption and Diffusion: Social Learning, Extension Services, and Spatial Effects," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 96(1), pages 328-344.
    14. Ollinger, Michael & Fernandez-Cornejo, Jorge, 1998. "Innovation and Regulation in the Pesticide Industry," Agricultural and Resource Economics Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 27(1), pages 15-27, April.
    15. Ollinger, Michael & Fernandez-Cornejo, Jorge, 1995. "Regulation, Innovation, and Market Structure in the U.S. Pesticide Industry," Agricultural Economic Reports 308425, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    16. Wade, Tara & Kurkalova, Lyubov A. & Secchi, Silvia, 2012. "Using the logit model with aggregated choice data in estimation of Iowa corn farmers’ conservation tillage subsidies," 2012 Annual Meeting, August 12-14, 2012, Seattle, Washington 124974, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    17. Borchers, Allison & Truex-Powell, Elizabeth & Wallander, Steven & Nickerson, Cynthia, 2014. "Multi-Cropping Practices: Recent Trends in Double-Cropping," Economic Information Bulletin 262122, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    18. Olen, Beau & Wu, Junjie, 2013. "Supply of Insurance for Specialty Crops and its Effect on Yield and Acreage," 2013 Annual Meeting, August 4-6, 2013, Washington, D.C. 150787, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    19. Jonas Kathage & Manuel Gómez-Barbero & Emilio Rodríguez-Cerezo, 2016. "Framework for assessing the socio-economic impacts of Bt maize cultivation," JRC Research Reports JRC103197, Joint Research Centre.
    20. C.S. Kim & C. Sandretto & N.D. Uri, 1997. "The Implications of the Adoption of Alternative Production Practices on the Estimation of Input Productivity in Agriculture," Energy & Environment, , vol. 8(2), pages 133-150, June.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Environmental Economics and Policy; Production Economics;

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ags:uersib:178462. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: AgEcon Search (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/ersgvus.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.