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# Use of this 2,4-D weed killer is exploding in Illinois farming country
- URL: https://www.investigatemidwest.org/use-of-this-24-d-weed-killer-is-exploding-in-illinois-farming-country/
- Published: 2025-08-19T17:03:11.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-23T18:12:12.000Z
- Description: Since 2017, use of the herbicide on soybeans has risen 341%. Researchers warn communities such as Champaign County are increasingly exposed.
- Author: Lauren Cross, Investigate Midwest
- Tags: Agribusiness, Labor, Health, Environment, Data Harvest, 2, 4-D, pesticides and cancer, chlorophenoxy herbicides, crop chemicals, developmental harm children, TP::Explainer, farmland exposure, glyphosate, herbicide exposure, hormone disruption, Illinois soybeans, Pesticide drift, pesticide poisoning, pesticide regulation Illinois, pesticide use increase, resistant soybean varieties, Tufts University pesticide study, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-06-18 04:56

If you live in Champaign County, odds are you’re close to soybean fields – and to the weed killers sprayed on them.

A [new analysis by Tufts University researchers](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12223063/?ref=investigatemidwest.org) found that 45% of the county’s residents [lived near heavy 2,4-D use in 2023](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/core/lw/2.0/html/tileshop%5Fpmc/tileshop%5Fpmc%5Finline.html?title=Click%20on%20image%20to%20zoom&p=PMC3&id=12223063%5F41598%5F2025%5F6955%5FFig3%5FHTML.jpg&ref=investigatemidwest.org), nearly double the share in 2017\. Statewide, farmers applied more than 2 million kilograms of the chemical that year – over four times the level recorded just six years earlier.

What worries experts is how much of this spray can end up beyond the fields. 2,4-D is known to drift off fields and seep into homes, where it can collect in dust and persist long after spraying. The study notes that in [an 11-state review of pesticide poisoning cases](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3237344/?ref=investigatemidwest.org), drift exposure accounted for the largest share of illnesses among farmworkers and nearby residents, with chlorophenoxy herbicides like 2,4-D linked to dozens of incidents.

Researchers have linked it to hormone disruption, cancer and developmental harm in children – risks that grow as spraying ramps up across the state.

Farmers applied 482,335 kilograms (about 1 million pounds) of 2,4-D to soybeans in 2017, compared with 2,190,914 kilograms (4.83 million pounds) in 2023 – a 341% increase, according to the study. Some counties saw jumps above 600% while the area of soybeans planted statewide has [remained relatively stable over time](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12223063/?ref=investigatemidwest.org).

Once the fourth most-used pesticide on soybeans, 2,4-D has climbed to second place in Illinois, trailing only glyphosate.

Researchers say the timing isn’t accidental: 2,4-D-resistant soybean varieties became widely available in 2019, encouraging greater use. Illinois, the nation’s top soybean producer, devotes more than 30% of its farmland to the crop.

The surge has heightened potential exposure for people living near farm fields. In Champaign County, the study’s focus, nearly 99% of residents live within 1 kilometer (about two-thirds of a mile) of at least 10 acres of soybean crops.

Researchers combined government crop maps, pesticide use reports, and census data to pinpoint where potential non-farm exposure is highest. They say the results could help health officials target testing, monitoring, and education efforts in the most affected areas.