Survey of small local produce growers' perception of antibiotic resistance issues at farmers markets

Antibiotic resistance (AR) has been identified in bacteria isolated from fresh produce from local farmers markets (FMs). This study determines local produce growers’ awareness and attitude toward AR risks from produce sold at FMs. Surveys were conducted at five FMs in WV, PA, and MI from May-2019 to March-2020. Questions asked include demographic information, awareness and concerns of AR risks, on-farm practice of antibiotics, field rotation between produce and livestock, type of fertilizers, source of irrigation water, and interest to take AR training. Data were analyzed using Chi-square tests of independence in R-software to examine bivariate relationships between categorical variables (P = 0.05). The survey response rate was 41% (76/185) and no location variation (P > 0.05) was observed in answers to each question. There are 92% of participants have heard of AR risks, although AR is their least concerned (28%) risk regardless of the farm size (P > 0.05). There are 70% of respondents believed that AR was caused by use of antibiotics in humans and farms, whereas 43% thought it was caused by AR-bacteria on produce. There are 60% of the respondents used manure or plant compost vs. 30% used chemicals as fertilizers (P < 0.05). Source of irrigation water evenly (P > 0.05) distributed among municipal (34%), surface (34%), well (34%), and rainwater (39%). There are 29% of the participants using antibiotics to treat their animals compared to 40% that did not. There are 68% of the participants interested in the training of AR prevention, especially for farmers owning 1–24 acres (P < 0.05). Survey results can be used for the development of training materials of AR risks as supplement to the current GAP/FSMA training for farmers market vendors and managers by local farmers market associations.