The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) is the lead state agency for all aspects of pesticide and fertilizer environmental and regulatory functions. These authorities are described in Minnesota Statutes §§ 18B, 18C, 18D and 103H.
The MDA publishes annual pesticide sales data for pesticide active ingredients based on pesticide registrant reporting requirements. Care must be used when interpreting this data. Sales data for select crop chemicals is available from 1991 to 1995, for all crop chemicals from 1996 to present, and for other pesticide categories from 2006 to present. Pesticides sold in Minnesota may not be used in the same year they are sold, or in some cases may never be used in Minnesota. However, these sales data provide an indication of long-term pesticide use trends.
A variety of sources publish information related to pesticide use in Minnesota. Each source has a particular reason for collecting information and a set of assumptions underlying its collection and reporting methods.
