Pesticide use in agricultural, industrial and domestic sectors: More about the data

The data used to develop this indicator comes from an extensive survey of pesticide (herbicide, insecticide, fungicide) sales from Alberta agricultural, commercial and residential retailers, wholesalers and distributors. This survey was conducted for the 1993, 1998 and 2003 calendar years. Alberta Environment consolidates the overall sales data, and then the agricultural sales were compared to respective agricultural cropland areas to generate agricultural use intensities. For example, the total agricultural sales for 1998 (7 588 662 kg active ingredient) was compared to the total cultivated cropland in Alberta for 1996 (9 728 181 ha - from the 1996 Census of Agriculture) to derive the estimated overall use intensity of 0.79 kg/ha. The data for 2003 is preliminary, and subject to revision.

The Agricultural sector includes pesticides sold for weed, insect and disease control for field crop production, seed treatment, and livestock protection. The Commercial/Industrial sector includes pesticides sold for a wide variety of uses, including right of way maintenance, commercial landscaping, forestry, structural pest control, golf course, parks, nursery and greenhouse, and other uses that are not classified as strictly agricultural. The Domestic sector includes all domestic class pesticides sold in Alberta, primarily lawn, garden and household products, but also including insect repellents. Weed and feed fertilizer/herbicide products are also included in the Domestic sector.