> Higher amounts of chemicals are dumped on fields each year 

This isn't true. Amounts of chemicals are going steadily down. In 1988, 64 million pounds of herbicides were applied on farms in US; by 2007 this had fallen to 46 million pounds. Insecticides: 30 million pounds in 1980, fell to 14 million by 2007 -- less than half as much. Fungicides went from 32 million lbs. in 1988 to 19 million in 2007. 

Total chemicals went from 184 million pounds in 1988 to 129 million in 2007. It's still a huge amount, but this doesn't tell the whole story. The formulations are different. Some of these require less poundage; others have fewer side effects. Some may be worse for the environment, even in smaller amounts. 

Annual Amount of Pesticide Active Ingredient Used in the United States by Pesticide Type, 1988–2007 Estimates Industry/Commercial/Government Market Sector
Biological and Economic Analysis Division Office of Pesticide Programs
Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Washington, DC 20460
February 2011

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Peter Loring Borst
128 Lieb Road
Spencer, NY  14883
607 280 4253
peterloringborst.com

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