Pesticides are widely used for agriculture in the United States to limit pest damage, increase crop yield, and to promote food security [1–2]. While pesticides have many benefits to agriculture, adverse health effects including acute poisonings and cancer are associated with pesticide exposure [2–8].

Young adult workers (i.e., under the age of 25 years) represent approximately 12% of the workforce in the United States but have disproportionately higher rates of occupational injuries, particularly those working in agriculture [9–14]. Young adult workers are seven times more likely to have a fatal injury in agriculture compared to young adult workers in other industries [11]. In Iowa, where pesticides are heavily applied to corn and soybeans, workers between the ages of 20 and 29 accounted for almost a third of all pesticide poisoning cases [4]. Although this is mostly disinfectants, agrochemicals make up the second largest group [4].

Research also suggests that young agricultural workers in Iowa are concerned about pesticides [15]. However, it is not clear what safety practices young adult workers use to protect themselves, what aspects of pesticides they are concerned about or which resources they use to find information about the risks associated with pesticides. The goal of this study was to examine pesticide safety measures, concerns related to pesticide use and resources utilized among young adult workers to mitigate health risks.

Participants were recruited through agricultural programs at two community colleges and one university in Iowa during the Spring 2021 semester. Participants between the ages of 18 and 29 with any farming experience in the midwestern United States were recruited. Faculty at each institution distributed flyers and/or sent a recruitment email to agricultural science students at their institution that described the purpose of the study and provided a link to an online questionnaire.

The online questionnaire included items addressing demographics, experience in pesticide application, pesticide safety practices used, concerns about pesticide application, and sources of information used to obtain information about pesticides. Participants were given a list of sources and asked to select all that apply (e.g., internet, university or college, pesticide dealer, friend). Those who selected the internet as a resource were asked additional questions about how often they used the internet to search for information about pesticides (always, some of the time, never), what types of online sites or sources they used (e.g., university, government) and any facilitators or barriers to using the internet to obtain information about pesticides. The internet is frequently used by young adults to look up information in general [16–19]; however, little is known about how they use online resources to find information about pesticides. Participants completing the questionnaire were compensated $10 for their time.

Descriptive statistics were used to summarize demographic characteristics, safety measures, concerns about pesticide use and resources for pesticide information. This study was determined human subjects research and approved by the University of Iowa Institutional Review Board (IRB Number 202008345).

Safety practices frequently utilized by young adult workers who apply pesticides included glove use, wearing long sleeves, wearing long pants, reading the pesticide label, and using a tractor with an enclosed cab. In contrast, study participants were less likely to wear respirators and protective suits for applying pesticides. However, this finding does not necessarily suggest that young agricultural workers are being “less safe” and may be that the pesticides being applied, and the methods used to apply them, may not recommend the use of these PPE items [20].

Pesticide drift to crops was the most reported concern among all participants. This finding could be due to the significant increase in pesticide drift cases in Iowa during recent years. According to a 2020 Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS) report on pesticide drift cases in Iowa, agriculture-related pesticide misuse cases (i.e., drift cases) increased from 89 to 295 between 2012 and 2020 [21]. This finding may also suggest that young agricultural workers have concerns about the impact of pesticides on their health, farming operation or the environment.

Young adult workers primarily used the internet to get information about pesticides. This finding differed slightly from a previous survey which had the internet as the third most used resource for health and safety hazards, followed by community college and 4-H/Future Farmers of America (FFA) [15], but consistent with general trends of young people using the internet to find information [17]. We found that those who apply pesticides also utilized pesticide dealers and non-applicators used universities/colleges to find pesticide information, suggesting that the accuracy and validity of pesticide information needs to be consistent across multiple sources.

Motives and barriers for using the internet or internet-based applications such as social media for pesticide information were similar to findings from previous studies [18–19]. Speed and accessibility were the primary benefits identified in our study for using the internet for information. While this is the first study to examine misinformation of pesticides in the public health literature that we are aware of, other studies of the general population have described misinformation on the internet as a rising problem, including misinformation and quality of information related to COVID-19 [22]. Ensuring that online resources include citations from reliable sources is one way to ensure that agricultural workers have access to accurate information [23].

The goal of this study was to understand safety measures, pesticide-related concerns, and resources young agricultural workers use to find information about pesticides. Developing trustworthy and credible online resources may be a way to promote pesticide safety behaviors among young agricultural workers. Future studies should focus on identifying the most appropriate practices for distributing safety and health information that increase adoption of pesticide safety behaviors among young adult workers.