The evidence confirms the belief that many growers in this
study have some knowledge but all could benefit from receiving
salient produce safety information. These data are presented in
Table 3.
The small number of significant correlations indicates a degree
of parallel understanding of produce safety risks across farm scales
with slightly greater understanding demonstrated among smaller
scale farmers (there were eight negative and four positive correlations).
A small increase in the perception of risks from pesticide
applications, chemical fertilizers, and wildlife feces as pre-harvest
sources of contamination was seen among smaller scales. A
similar pattern emerged among the same growers for post-harvest
sources of pesticide mix-water, road dust, and storage containers.
Smaller scale growers had positive perceptions of treating well
water as a prevention practice more than larger growers, while
larger growers were more likely to perceive banning raw manure
use and keeping livestock out of produce fields. In this research, the
perceptions of risk related to familiar practices are minimized by
the farmers who rely on them the most.