Estimates of agricultural-chemical use across counties in the conterminous United States were compiled from the 1987 Census of Agriculture. Data includes metrics like acres treated, tons applied, or percentage of county area, derived from surveys of farms with at least $1,000 in agricultural sales. The dataset integrates some 1982 census data and uses 1:2,000,000-scale National Atlas boundaries for spatial representation.
Use Cases
- Analyze spatial correlation between county-level chemical application rates (acres or tons) and water quality data.
- Model historical trends in agricultural intensity by comparing 1987 chemical use percentages with 1982 census data.
- Assess regional patterns of farm chemical adoption using the polygon features for counties and nonland areas like lakes.
Strengths
- Data sourced from the authoritative U.S. Census of Agriculture, ensuring national coverage.
- Includes spatial boundaries from the 1:2,000,000-scale National Atlas for geographic analysis.
Limitations
- Data is from a single year (1987 primary), making it temporally stale for contemporary analysis.
- Estimates are derived from survey thresholds (farms with $1,000+ sales), potentially excluding smaller operations.
Provenance
- Source
- 1987 Census of Agriculture (U.S. Department of Commerce).
- Collection Method
- Survey estimates from all farms where $1,000 or more of agricultural products were sold.
- Time Range
- Primarily 1987, with some included information from 1982.
- Freshness
- null
- Geography
- Counties in the conterminous United States.