Almost every single farm in the United States in the 1950s and 60s used pesticides. Organic farming had just been just recently introduced and didn’t become a common practice until years later. At this point in time, every farmer used some kind of chemical pesticide on their crop.
One pesticide that was commonly used was the insecticide DDT (Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane). The chemical was commonly used and had a positive connotation with it until a scientist named Rachel Carson discovered some of the hidden side effects of it. In 1962, Carson released her book Silent Spring which told the world of her findings. She noticed that birds that were eating the bugs infected by the DDT couldn’t lay eggs and the shells were cracked. At first, everyone told Carson she was crazy and that DDT was a miracle for the farming industry. It wasn’t until people starting getting cancer or starting having fertility issues that they truly realized the danger.
Today farmers have several options to keep pests and weeds away from their crops. There are safer pesticides, biopesticides (natural), and also an organic approach. Pesticides are just one factor that farmers have to think about when it comes to land management. Other factors include irrigation, labor choices, and harvesting techniques.
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