SIC 2879 Pesticides and Agricultural Chemicals, Not Elsewhere Classified
SIC 2879
This category includes establishments primarily engaged in the formulation and preparation of ready-to-use agricultural and household pesticides from technical chemicals or concentrates, and the production of concentrates that require further processing before use as agricultural pesticides. This industry also includes establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing or formulating agricultural chemicals, not elsewhere classified, such as minor or trace elements and soil conditioners. Establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing basic or technical agricultural pest control chemicals are classified in industries that manufacture industrial organic or inorganic chemicals.
325320
Pesticide and Other Agricultural Chemical Manufacturing
Dominant forces affecting the agricultural chemicals industry during the early 2000s were increased government regulation, public concern over pesticides and a growing organic movement, and a weakening global economy. As a result, the industry overall saw declines in the value of shipments throughout the period.
In 2001, the value of U.S. shipments of pesticides and other agricultural chemicals declined to $8.9 billion, compared to $9.1 billion in 2000, and to $10.1 billion in 1999. Most pesticide sold in the United States is used for crops including corn (25 percent), soybeans (20 percent), and cotton (10 percent). Nearly 25 percent of pesticides shipped in 2001 were used for lawn, garden, and other noncrop household and institutional purposes.
Pesticide sales can be subdivided into three main categories: herbicides, insecticides, and fungicides. Herbicides, which are used to kill weeds and brush, make up roughly 70 percent of U.S. pesticide sales; these are primarily for crop use. Insecticides make up 20 percent of the market; in the late 1990s, this market had dropped more than 20 percent due to advances in biotechnology including insect-resistant plants and seeds. Fungicides represent less than 10 percent of sales.
Prior to World War I, pesticide use in the United States was limited. The Insecticide Act of 1910 imposed some regulations on pesticide manufacturers, but was mainly concerned with product effectiveness rather than public safety. After World War II, pesticides became more sophisticated, and their use more widespread. In 1947, Congress updated the Insecticide Act with the more comprehensive Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). The new legislation required pesticides, which were distributed across state lines, to be registered with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). However, the emphasis was on proper labeling and product efficacy.
It was not until 1954 that public health concerns were addressed by legislators. In that year, Congress amended the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDC Act) with a section (408) that directed the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to set residue tolerance levels (i.e., maximum allowable pesticide residue) for pesticides used on raw produce. These tolerance levels were set using a risk/benefit analysis, whereby public health risks were weighed against benefits to the food supply. Four years later, in 1958, Congress added the controversial Delaney Clause, requiring pesticides that remain in processed foods in amounts that exceed their tolerance for raw produce, and that have been found to cause cancer in laboratory animals, not be approved for any use on food crops, regardless of any countervailing benefit of those pesticides. The Delaney clause applied only to processed foods, not to fresh produce, or to crops the EPA did not consider processed, such as frozen vegetables. In fact, the Delaney Clause had minimal impact on pesticides precisely because the overwhelming majority of pesticide residues decrease or remain at the same levels when fresh food is processed.
In 1970, the newly created Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was given responsibility for setting residue tolerances. Enforcement of the EPA pesticide tolerances remained the responsibility of the FDA. In 1972, Congress amended FIFRA with the Federal Environmental Pesticides Control Act. The new act required all...
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