As part of my ongoing community-based research on water quality in coastal North Carolina, I ended up tasked with answering what I thought would be a very basic question: what is the predominant pesticide used in my county? The largest farm and by far the largest amount of cropland is occupied by a traditional corn/soy rotation with the occasional cotton thrown in. Given the multitude of American acres donated to corn/soy, I figured I could easily find out the basics of that crop’s chemistry. Not so. My little information adventure has made me realize why there are so many rumors surrounding farming’s impact on water quality in the region. Rumors are easier to find than facts.
Read More “Chemistry of the Great Big Blue: A Pesticide Mystery” »