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ARS Home » Plains Area » Brookings, South Dakota » Integrated Cropping Systems Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #259999
Title: Insecticide use and crop selection in regions with high GM adoption rates

Author
item MCDONALD, TIA - South Dakota State University
item KEATING, A - South Dakota State University
item FAUSTI, S - South Dakota State University
item LI, J - South Dakota State University
item Lundgren, Jonathan
item CATANGUI, M - South Dakota State University

Submitted to: Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/14/2011
Publication Date: 11/1/2012
Citation: Mcdonald, T.M., Keating, A.R., Fausti, S., Li, J., Lundgren, J.G., Catangui, M. 2012. Insecticide use and crop selection in regions with high GM adoption rates. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems. 24(4):295-304.

Interpretive Summary: Bt crops have been touted as a way to reduce insecticide use in cropland, including cornfields of South Dakota. Using county level data from the National Agricultural Statistics Service and Economic Research Service, we created a model that examines the insecticide inputs into major field crops of South Dakota since the advent of Bt corn. Our model shows that insecticide applications have increased in corn since Bt corn was first marketed, and provides input on how the changing agricultural landscape has influenced insecticide use patterns in recent decades.

Technical Abstract: South Dakota has recently experienced a significant increase in the proportion of acres treated with insecticide. Unfortunately, data on insecticide usage by crop at the county level is not available. The following case study seeks to uncover the reasons for this increase by analyzing county-level data in South Dakota with a fixed effects panel regression. The study links the proportion of acres planted for a specific crop to the proportion of total acres treated with insecticide. This approach provides insight on how changing cropping patterns in South Dakota have influenced insecticide use.