Massachusetts Grower Attitudes 

 Toward a Certification Program for 

 Integrated Pest Management 



Craig S. Hollingsworth and William M. Coli 

 Department of Entomology, University of Massachusetts 



Vicki Van Zee 



Massachusetts Department of Food and Agriculture 



The Massachusetts Department of Food & 

 Agriculture, in cooperation with the University 

 of Massachusetts Cooperative Extension Sys- 

 tem Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Pro- 

 gram, has been investigating the feasibility 

 certifying and labelling produce grown under 

 specified IPM practices. Consumer concerns 

 over pesticide issues and the desire of growers to 

 be recognized as environmentally responsible 

 are among the reasons for developing such a 

 program. 



In the previous article, we reported on the 

 attitudes and perceptions of New England con- 

 sumers and the food industry to IPM and a 

 proposed "IPM-Grown" label. That study 

 showed strong support for IPM certification, but 

 because it was a New England-wide survey, it 

 contained only a few responses from Massachu- 

 setts growers. Before such a certification or 

 recognition program is implemented in Massa- 

 chusetts, it is important to determine the sup- 

 port and concerns of the growers themselves. 



In November 1991, questionnaires were 

 sent to all Massachusetts certified pesticide ap- 

 plicators in the tree fruit, small fruit, vegetable, 

 and cranberry categories. These categories cur- 

 rently have the most developed IPM programs 

 in Massachusetts. It should be noted that some 

 growers in the state do not use restricted-use 

 pesticides, hence, were not included in the sur- 

 vey. The survey followed a modified version of 

 the protocol described by D.A. Dillman (Mail 

 and Telephone Surveys: The Total Design 

 Method, 1978), which specifies survey instru- 



ment design, mailing and follow-up procedures. 

 Three separate mailings were made, including 

 an initial mailing, a post-card reminder, and an 

 additional survey to individuals who did not 

 respond to the initial mailing. 



The questionnaire asked growers 27 ques- 

 tions about their farming practices and adoption 

 of IPM, their opinions of a potential IPM certifi- 

 cation program, and what components of such a 

 program would be most useful to them. Some 

 questions asked for more than one response. A 

 brief paragraph describing IPM was also in- 

 cluded. 



A total of 684 certified applicators responded 

 to the survey. Of these, 566 reported that they 

 were active in farming. The results reported 

 here are from this group of active farmers, of 

 which 141 (25%) were certified in apple, 54 

 (10%) in small fruit, 171 (30%) in cranberry, and 

 196 (35%) in vegetable. Note that rounding 

 errors and missing data points result in minor 

 discrepancies in the summarization of the data. 



The age of the respondents ranged from 18 to 

 88 years, with a mean of 49 years. Their experi- 

 ence in farming was evenly distributed: 32% had 

 farmed for less than eleven years; 21% had 

 farmed for 12 to 19 years; 24% had farmed for 20 

 to 34 years; and 23% had farmed for more than 

 35 years. 



Forty-two percent of the respondents sold 

 retail, 32% sold wholesale, 25% sold through a 

 cooperative, and 2% used other means. Of the 

 apple growers, 75% sold retail and 42% sold 

 wholesale. Among cranberry growers, 78% sold 



Fruit Notes, Fall, 1992 



