Estimated Fertilizer Usage by U.S. County, 1950 - 2017 (USGS)

Nitrogen & Phosphorus fertilizers are popularly used in both farm and non-farm settings across the United States. Although fertilizers can greatly increase agricultural and garden yields, fertilizer use and overuse may result in diminished soil health, diminished nutritional density of crops, and have negative downstream impacts on the environment. This map explores the estimated fertilizer usage for farm, non-farm, and combined total settings over time. Click on a county to view a specific county's values.

Visualized with Leaflet, data prepared for mapping with Python.

Source: Falcone, J.A., 2021, Tabular county-level nitrogen and phosphorus estimates from fertilizer and manure for approximately 5-year periods from 1950 to 2017: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P9VSQN3C.

Separated 'farm' and 'non-farm' values are only available from 1987 onwards.