On average, these operators believe that both kinds
of water quality problems from agricultural chemicals
and all of the five types of pesticide-related risks
are moderately serious (Table 1). A difference-of
means test indicated that the average stated seriousness
of activities involving pesticide use on the farm
(mixing/loading and applying pesticides) was statistically
significantly greater than pesticide effects
that are more remote from immediate farm operations.
The average seriousness level was the same for
mixing/loading and application.
Results of a survey conducted by the National Opinion
Research Center (1994) were used to compare
these farmers’ beliefs with those of the general public.
This survey asked members of the public how
dangerous they thought that pesticides and chemicals
used in farming were for (1) the environment and (2)
themselves and their families. Responses to the environment
question from the survey of the generalpublic were matched with those about water pollution
from pesticides and about illness or injury to wildlife
from the Mid-Atlantic farmer survey (Table 2). Responses
to the health and safety question from the
survey of the general public were matched to the remaining
four pesticide-related questions from the Mid-
Atlantic farmer survey. On average, these farmers’ beliefs
about the seriousness of pesticide effects matched
those of the general public. The distributions of beliefs
were quite different, however. The beliefs of the general
public follow a bell-shaped distribution with about
half of the public evaluating both effects as moderately
serious, while those of the farmers were distributed
almost uniformly across the five possible categorical
answers.
Studies of the environmental concerns of farm operators
have not been as commonly researched as attitudes
of the general public, so that these results can
be compared with few others. A recent national study
found that 29% of farmers thought that contamination
of surface and ground water by pesticides and fertilizers
was the most serious environmental problem
in agriculture, compared with 7% identifying risks
to people from pesticides in food supplies and 4%
identifying health risks to workers exposed to pesticides
(Sandoz Agro, 1993). In contrast, 31% of these
farmers thought that the typical consumer believed
that contamination of food supplies by pesticides was
the most-serious agriculture-related environmental
problem. Eighty-seven percent cited inaccurate reporting
in the media as the main reason for worsening
public perceptions of environmental problems from
farming. On average, they felt that the media were
not very informed with respect to agriculture and the
environment