CPRI: Pesticide Use Data

The collection, analysis, and communication of pesticide use data is among the Crop Protection Reserach Institute's primary areas of interest. CPRI strives to maintain a comprehensive and up to date understanding of crop production pesticide use patterns in the U.S. and the factors that influence these use patterns. The Institute uses this knowledge to inform discussions of pest management, pesticide policy and regulation, and agricultural research at technical, policy-oriented, and popular levels.

National Pesticide Use Database
Integral to CPRI's pesticide use research is the maintenance of the National Pesticide Use Database, the only national, comprehensive, publicly available pesticide use database for the United States. Originally issued by the National Center for Food and Agricultural Policy in 1995, the database presented data for the period circa 1992. In 2000, NCFAP released an update to the National Pesticide Use Database providing data circa 1997. Combined, the 1992 and 1997 databases include 20,886 individual records that quantify the use of 235 active ingredients on 87 crops in the 48 contiguous states. The National Pesticide Use Database 1992 & 1997 is hosted for public access at the North Carolina State University's Center for Integrated Pest Management. Click here to access the National Pesticide Use Database.

In May, 2006, CPRI released the National Pesticide Use Database 2002. NPUD2002 is the most recent version of the database and presents data on crop production pesticide use circa 2002. It was completed in two installments: fungicides and herbicides in February, 2006; and insecticides and other pesticides in May, 2006. While the data are accessed in a single database, summaries and references are published in two separate reports. Prior to accessing the database, please review these reports: Pesticide Use in 2002: Fungicides & Herbicides and Pesticide Use in 2002: Insecticides & Other Pesticides. The documents contain information on the methodology used to compile NPUD2002, summary tables, data source references, and some analysis of pesticide use patterns and trends.

The National Pesticide Use Database is used by many public gencies as a source of pesticide use data for regulatory and policy decison making and environmental modeling and monitoring. A primary user of the database is the United States Geological Survey's National Water Quality Assessment Program (NAWQA). NAWQA uses the database in its national assessment of pesticides in the streams, rivers, and ground water of the United States. USGS has provided funds to CPRI to help cover the cost of the 2002 National Pesticide Use Database update.

National Pesticide Use Reports & Trends Analysis
In conjunction with the development and release of the National Pesticide Use Database, NCFAP prepared two reports that provide context for the data presented in the database. Pesticide Use in U.S. Crop Production: 1997 National Summary Report summarizes the 1997 pesticide use data and provides discussion of the database parameters, construction, compilation, and review, as well as a complete list of data sources and references. Trends in Pesticide Use: Comparing 1992 and 1997 provides analysis and explanation of the changes in pesticide use between 1992 and 1997 that appear in the National Pesticide Use Database. It is strongly recommended that any user of the National Pesticide Use Database review these reports. Upon completion of the 2002 update to the National Pesticide Use Database CPRI will release similar reports summarizing and detailing the 2002 database and analyzing pesticide use trends from 1992 to 2003.

EPA Region 6, Special Pesticide Use Trends Report
In the spring of 2004 CPRI staff were asked by USEPA Region 6 (Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, & Texas) to prepare a report discussing pesticide use trends within the region. Drawing upon the National Pesticide Use Database and staff expertise, CPRI prepared Trends in Pesticide Use in EPA Region 6: Comparing 1992 and 1997.

Pesticide Use Data Collection Needs Assessment
A primary interest of CPRI staff is the collection, use, and availability of pesticide use statistics by government agencies, industry and the public. Pesticide use data are available from a number of sources including federal and state governments and private organizations. The federal government, through USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), publishes surveys detailing pesticide use by growers of selected crops. These surveys address only major production states for each selected crop and many crops are covered only on a periodic rather than annual basis. California is the only state with a comprehensive, annual report delineating pesticide use by crop. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and crop protection product manufacturers purchase multi-client research reports that provide detailed pesticide use data, which can not be made public.

In conjunction with our work to examine and advance the collection of pesticide use data, CPRI staff participated in an advisory subcommittee to assess federal pesticide use data collection and evaluate potential for improvement. The findings of this subcommittee and the positions of pesticide use data stakeholders are reviewed in a statement presented to the NASS advisory committee on February 15, 2006.