It is a common assumption among food safety experts
in the United States (U.S.) that small and medium scale growers pose inherently greater risk
because they are viewed as least likely to implement Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) or attend
continuing education programs.Farm scale is an aspect of food safety that is apparent to many yet
overlooked by large-scale farmers, produce industry advocates, and regulators who have collectively
created the current food safety system of standards and metrics. In this paper, responses to a survey of
fresh produce growers about on-farm food safety are examined across farm scales using factor analysis
and ANOVA. The findings demonstrate that, with few exceptions, U.S. Midwestern produce growers of all
scales report similar levels of knowledge for pathogens, pre-harvest and post-harvest contamination
sources, and management practices to prevent contamination. These findings challenge assumptions and
generalizations and redirect the food safety conversation away from “knowledge deficit” models and
toward the development of food safety standards, metrics, and certification processes that remove
structural barriers to implementing on-farm food safety protocols for all scales of fresh produce
production.