An increase in animal-related occupational injuries at a veterinary medical center (2008-2022).

OBJECTIVE: To characterize animal-related injuries in veterinary medical center staff at a veterinary medical center. SAMPLE: 706 hospital staff injuries. METHODS: Deidentified injury reports were submitted to Human Resources from 2008 through 2022. Injury data collected included the injury description, date of injury, occupation, and worker's compensation claim information. Data were summarized by year, cause of injury, total cost associated with injury, and occupation. RESULTS: There was an increase in injuries reported in recent years when compared to past years, with the plurality of injuries being bite injuries, specifically occurring on the hand, finger, and wrist area. Bite injuries had a higher average total worker's compensation cost paid to staff than striking injuries. There were more injuries reported by staff who had less experience working with animals. More injuries occurred during the summer months (June through September). There was not an unusual trend in the reporting of injuries due to COVID-19. Other injuries (eg, needlesticks and falls) were reported from only 2019 to 2022, but constituted a substantial burden for staff. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: These findings can help stakeholders at teaching hospitals and veterinary clinics to take steps toward creating a safer workplace environment for employees. It is important to identify work hazards and provide proper training and prevention methods to reduce the risk of injuries, especially among less experienced employees. Proper prevention methods will help reduce worker's compensation costs for the teaching hospital and reduce the number of workdays missed by staff.

Assessing Self-reported Occupational Hazards of Manure Applicators in the Upper Midwest.

Manure management on farms presents potential risks to human health and safety, including infectious, chemical, and physical exposures that may result in injury or fatality. Toxic gases and confined spaces are among the most common hazards. These hazards are especially salient for the Upper Midwest of the United States. This study characterizes the occupational health and safety practices and experiences of manure applicators in Minnesota. This cross-sectional study surveyed 162 commercial manure applicators about their work characteristics, safety practices, and health and safety experiences. Respondents reported an average of 17 hours per day applying manure during the busy season, which typically occurs several weeks each year. One hundred and thirty-one (90%) of 145 respondents did not regularly use gas monitors during application. Thirty-three (37%) of 90 respondents reported at least one symptom of gas exposure during manure application work. Those that worked with swine manure were more likely to report symptoms of gas exposure than those who did not work with swine (OR 9.5; CI: 2.0, 89.0). Those that had entered confined spaces were more likely to report symptoms of gas exposure than those who had not entered confined spaces (OR 4.4; CI: 0.1, 1.1). Fourteen (9%) of 150 respondents reported being injured when applying manure. Manure work can be hazardous and may be associated with injury and gas exposure. These findings offer a starting point for future research and intervention to protect and improve the health and safety of applicators.

Occurrence and potential transmission of extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing extraintestinal pathogenic and enteropathogenic Escherichia coli in domestic dog faeces from Minnesota.

Interactions between humans and pets are increasingly valued in western countries, leading to more extensive contact between humans and their pets within households. Although the magnitude of the risk of transfer of Escherichia coli between humans and their companion animals is undefined, that such transmission occurs has been established and warrants attention. This study examined 186 fresh faecal samples from companion dogs visiting 22 municipal dog parks in the Minneapolis/Saint Paul metropolitan area, Minnesota, USA. Samples were processed to isolate 3rd-generation cephalosporin-resistant E. coli, which were further characterized using PCR-based virulence genotyping, antimicrobial susceptibility profiling and whole-genome sequencing. Of the 186 faecal samples, 29% yielded cephalosporin-resistant E. coli, and 2.2% yielded extended-spectrum beta-lactamase producers. Co-resistance to sulfonamides was typical (77.3% of isolates), and multidrug resistance (i.e. to ≥3 antimicrobial classes), including to combinations of tetracyclines, phenicols, quinolones and aminoglycosides, was substantial (18.9% of isolates). Identified beta-lactamase genes included blaCMY-2 , blaTEM-1B , blaTEM-1 , blaCTX-M-24 , blaCTX-M-15 and blaOXA-1 . Genome sequencing of 14 isolates identified genes typical of extraintestinal pathogenic E. coli or enteropathogenic E. coli. In three instances, closely related isolates were recovered from different dogs, within either the same park-suggesting transfer of E. coli between dogs within the park-or different parks-suggesting that dogs may be pre-disposed to carry certain E. coli types, such as those from serogroups O4, O71 and O157. This study adds to the existing evidence that companion dogs can harbour and share antimicrobial-resistant E. coli with presumed intestinal or extraintestinal pathogenic potential.

Strengthening global health security by improving disease surveillance in remote rural areas of low-income and middle-income countries.

The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the need to strengthen national surveillance systems to protect a globally connected world. In low-income and middle-income countries, zoonotic disease surveillance has advanced considerably in the past two decades. However, surveillance efforts often prioritise urban and adjacent rural communities. Communities in remote rural areas have had far less support despite having routine exposure to zoonotic diseases due to frequent contact with domestic and wild animals, and restricted access to health care. Limited disease surveillance in remote rural areas is a crucial gap in global health security. Although this point has been made in the past, practical solutions on how to implement surveillance efficiently in these resource-limited and logistically challenging settings have yet to be discussed. We highlight why investing in disease surveillance in remote rural areas of low-income and middle-income countries will benefit the global community and review current approaches. Using semi-arid regions in Kenya as a case study, we provide a practical approach by which surveillance in remote rural areas can be strengthened and integrated into existing systems. This Viewpoint represents a transition from simply highlighting the need for a more holistic approach to disease surveillance to a solid plan for how this outcome might be achieved.

The SCCmec Types and Antimicrobial Resistance among Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Species Isolated from Dogs with Superficial Pyoderma.

This study characterizes clinical methicillin-resistant staphylococcal (MRS) isolates obtained from superficial pyoderma infections in dogs. Our interest was to determine the staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec) type and the antimicrobial susceptibility among MRS isolates from clinical cases. Skin swabs were collected and cultured. Staphylococcus species were identified and characterized with biochemical tests and MALDI-TOF-MS and antimicrobial susceptibility testing by disk diffusion. mecA detection and staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec) typing were achieved by PCR. Of the 65 clinical samples, 56 (86.2%) staphylococcal infections were identified. Twelve (21%) of 56 isolates were MRS infections. All MRS isolates were multidrug resistant. The ccrC and class-C2 mec, which were SCCmec type V, were the most prevalent (66.7%) among the 12 MRS isolates. The predominant SCCmec type V was found in S. aureus, S. intermedius group, S. lentus, S. xylosus, and S. arlettae. Treatment failure is a concern with the emergence of highly resistant MRS in dogs associated with superficial pyoderma. The detection of type V SCCmec MRS has previously been reported among veterinarians and dog owners but not in Northern Thailand. These infections serve as a reminder to improve infection prevention and control measures including reducing environmental contamination and potential zoonotic exposures to MRS. In addition, educational awareness of these risks in small animal hospitals needs to be increased among veterinary hospital staff, clients, and patients.

Comparison of Antimicrobial-Resistant Escherichia coli Isolates from Urban Raccoons and Domestic Dogs.

Wildlife can be exposed to antimicrobial-resistant bacteria (ARB) via multiple pathways. Spatial overlap with domestic animals is a prominent exposure pathway. However, most studies of wildlife-domestic animal interfaces have focused on livestock and little is known about the wildlife-companion animal interface. Here, we investigated the prevalence and phylogenetic relatedness of extended-spectrum cephalosporin-resistant (ESC-R) Escherichia coli from raccoons (Procyon lotor) and domestic dogs (Canis lupus familiaris) in the metropolitan area of Chicago, IL, USA. To assess the potential importance of spatial overlap with dogs, we explored whether raccoons sampled at public parks (i.e., parks where people and dogs could enter) differed in prevalence and phylogenetic relatedness of ESC-R E. coli to raccoons sampled at private parks (i.e., parks where people and dogs could not enter). Raccoons had a significantly higher prevalence of ESC-R E. coli (56.9%) than dogs (16.5%). However, the richness of ESC-R E. coli did not vary by host species. Further, core single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)-based phylogenetic analyses revealed that isolates did not cluster by host species, and in some cases displayed a high degree of similarity (i.e., differed by less than 20 core SNPs). Spatial overlap analyses revealed that ESC-R E. coli were more likely to be isolated from raccoons at public parks than raccoons at private parks, but only for parks located in suburban areas of Chicago, not urban areas. That said, ESC-R E. coli isolated from raccoons did not genetically cluster by park of origin. Our findings suggest that domestic dogs and urban/suburban raccoons can have a diverse range of ARB, some of which display a high degree of genetic relatedness (i.e., differ by less than 20 core SNPs). Given the differences in prevalence, domestic dogs are unlikely to be an important source of exposure for mesocarnivores in urbanized areas. IMPORTANCE Antimicrobial-resistant bacteria (ARB) have been detected in numerous wildlife species across the globe, which may have important implications for human and animal health. Wildlife can be exposed to ARB via numerous pathways, including via spatial overlap with domestic animals. However, the interface with domestic animals has mostly been explored for livestock and little is known about the interface between wild animals and companion animals. Our work suggests that urban and suburban wildlife can have similar ARB to local domestic dogs, but local dogs are unlikely to be a direct source of exposure for urban-adapted wildlife. This finding is important because it underscores the need to incorporate wildlife into antimicrobial resistance surveillance efforts, and to investigate whether certain urban wildlife species could act as additional epidemiological pathways of exposure for companion animals, and indirectly for humans.

Importance of anthropogenic sources at shaping the antimicrobial resistance profile of a peri-urban mesocarnivore.

Anthropogenically derived antimicrobial-resistant bacteria (ARB) and antimicrobial resistance genes (ARG) have been detected in wildlife. The likelihood of detecting ARB and ARG in wildlife increases with wildlife exposure to anthropogenic sources of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Whether anthropogenic sources also increase the risk for AMR to spread in bacteria of wildlife is not well understood. The spread of AMR in bacteria of wildlife can be estimated by examining the richness of ARB and ARG, and the prevalence of ARB that have mobilizable ARG (i.e., ARG that can be transferred across bacteria via plasmids). Here, we investigated whether raccoons (Procyon lotor), with different exposures to anthropogenic sources, differed in prevalence and richness of extended-spectrum cephalosporin-resistant (ESC-R) Escherichia coli, richness of ARG present in ESC-R E. coli, and prevalence of ESC-R E. coli with plasmid-associated ARG. Sampling took place over the course of 10 months at seven sites in Chicago, USA. ESC-R E. coli were isolated from over half of the 211 raccoons sampled and were more likely to be isolated from urban than suburban raccoons. When examining the whole-genome sequences of ESC-R E. coli, 56 sequence types were identified, most of which were associated with the ARG blaCMY and blaCTX-M. A greater richness of ESC-R E. coli sequence types was found at sites with a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) than without, but no difference was detected based on urban context. ARG richness in ESC-R E. coli did not significantly vary by urban context nor with presence of a WWTP. Importantly, ESC-R E. coli carrying plasmid-associated blaCTX-M and blaCMY ARG were more likely to be isolated from raccoons sampled at sites with a WWTP than without. Our findings indicate that anthropogenic sources may shape the AMR profile of wildlife, reinforcing the need to prevent dissemination of AMR into the environment.

Analysis and modeling of Blastomyces dermatitidis environmental prevalence in Minnesota using soil collected to compare basal and outbreak levels.

Outbreaks of blastomycosis, caused by the fungus Blastomyces dermatitidis, occur in endemic areas of the United States and Canada but the geographic range of blastomycosis is expanding. Previous studies inferred the location of B. dermatitidis through epidemiologic data associated with outbreaks because culture of B. dermatitidis from the environment is often unsuccessful. In this study, we used a culture-independent, PCR-based method to identify B. dermatitidis DNA in environmental samples using the BAD1 promoter region. We tested 250 environmental samples collected in Minnesota, either associated with blastomycosis outbreaks or environmental samples collected from high- and low-endemic regions to determine basal prevalence of B. dermatitidis in the environment. We identified a fifth BAD1 promoter haplotype of B. dermatitidis prevalent in Minnesota. Ecological niche analysis identified latitude, longitude, elevation, and site classification as environmental parameters associated with the presence of B. dermatitidis Using this analysis, a Random Forest model predicted B. dermatitidis presence in basal environmental samples with 75% accuracy. These data support use of culture-independent, PCR-based environmental sampling to track spread into new regions and to characterize the unknown B. dermatitidis environmental niche.Importance Upon inhalation of spores from the fungus Blastomyces dermatitidis from the environment, humans and animals can develop the disease blastomycosis. Based on disease epidemiology, B. dermatitidis is known to be endemic in the United States and Canada around the Great Lakes and in the Ohio and Mississippi River Valleys but is starting to emerge in other areas. B. dermatitidis is extremely difficult to culture from the environment so little is known about the environmental reservoirs for this pathogen. We used a culture-independent PCR-based assay to identify the presence of B. dermatitidis DNA in soil samples from Minnesota. By combining molecular data with ecological niche modeling, we were able to predict the presence of B. dermatitidis in environmental samples with 75% accuracy and to define characteristics of the B. dermatitidis environmental niche. Importantly, we showed the effectiveness of using a PCR-based assay to identify B. dermatitidis in environmental samples.

Genetic diversity of influenza A viruses circulating in pigs between winter and summer in a Minnesota live animal market.

There has been little surveillance of influenza A viruses (IAVs) circulating in swine at live animal markets, particularly in the United States. To address this gap, we conducted active surveillance of IAVs in pigs, the air, and the environment during a summer and winter season in a live animal market in St. Paul, Minnesota, that had been epidemiologically associated with swine-origin influenza cases in humans previously. High rates of IAV were detected by PCR in swine lungs and oral fluids during both summer and winter seasons. Rates of IAV detection by PCR in the air were similar during summer and winter, although rates of successful virus isolation in the air were lower during summer than in winter (26% and 67%, respectively). H3N2 was the most prevalent subtype in both seasons, followed by H1N2. Genetically diverse viruses with multiple gene constellations were isolated from both winter and summer, with a total of 19 distinct genotypes identified. Comparative phylogenetic analysis of all eight segments of 40 virus isolates from summer and 122 isolates from winter revealed that the summer and winter isolates were genetically distinct, indicating IAVs are not maintained in the market, but rather are re-introduced, likely from commercial swine. These findings highlight the extent of IAV genetic diversity circulating in swine in live animal markets, even during summer months, and the ongoing risk to humans.

Factors that enable effective One Health collaborations - A scoping review of the literature.

Advocates for a One Health approach recognize that global health challenges require multidisciplinary collaborative efforts. While past publications have looked at interdisciplinary competency training for collaboration, few have identified the factors and conditions that enable operational One Health. Through a scoping review of the literature, a multidisciplinary team of researchers analyzed peer-reviewed publications describing multisectoral collaborations around infectious disease-related health events. The review identified 12 factors that support successful One Health collaborations and a coordinated response to health events across three levels: two individual factors (education & training and prior experience & existing relationships), four organizational factors (organizational structures, culture, human resources and, communication), and six network factors (network structures, relationships, leadership, management, available & accessible resources, political environment). The researchers also identified the stage of collaboration during which these factors were most critical, further organizing into starting condition or process-based factors. The research found that publications on multisectoral collaboration for health events do not uniformly report on successes or challenges of collaboration and rarely identify outputs or outcomes of the collaborative process. This paper proposes a common language and framework to enable more uniform reporting, implementation, and evaluation of future One Health collaborations.

Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices Associated with Brucellosis among Small-Scale Goat Farmers in Thailand.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to identify occupational risk factors for brucellosis among small scale goat farmers in Thailand. METHODS: To better understand farmers' knowledge, attitudes and practices associated with brucellosis we interviewed 51 farmers and tested 314 goats for Brucella melitensis. RESULTS: All serological samples tested negative for Brucella infection. Based on previous research and estimates provided from the Thai national brucellosis surveillance system, zero seropositivity was less than expected. Findings from interviews with farmers demonstrate that most respondents were relatively new to goat farming with just over half (53%) reporting owning goats for five or fewer years. The majority of respondents demonstrated important gaps in knowledge on disease transmission in animals and knowledge of human brucellosis was particularly limited with just over half (54%) reporting that humans could become infected. Participants had a very low perceived risk of infection with the majority (91.7%) reporting that they or a member of their household were not at risk of the disease. CONCLUSION: Overall findings from this study support that brucellosis poses an occupational risk to goat farmers with specific areas of concern including weak awareness of disease transmission to humans and lack of knowledge on specific safe farm practices such as quarantine practices. Findings from this study contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of brucellosis in Thailand by identifying specific occupational risk factors and describing areas where farmer education and training should be strengthened.

Lead Intoxication in Free-Ranging Bald Eagles ( Haliaeetus leucocephalus).

Lead toxicity due to ingestion of spent ammunition is an ongoing cause of mortality in bald eagles. While gross and histologic lesions of lead intoxication have been described in a few individuals of this species, the prevalence of lesions is underreported. A retrospective study of 93 bald eagles with severe lead intoxication was performed to describe the associated lesions and their prevalence and to compare the lesions with blood, liver, kidney, and/or bone lead concentrations. Gross lesions associated with lead toxicity were most frequent within the heart (51/93 birds) and consisted of multifocal myocardial pallor and rounding of the apex. Within the brain, gross lesions included petechiae or hemorrhagic necrosis (13/93 birds). Histologic lesions compatible with lead toxicity occurred within the heart (76/93 birds), brain (59/93 birds), and eyes (24/87 birds). Lead toxicity in bald eagles is characterized by fibrinoid necrosis of small- to medium-caliber arteries, most commonly affecting the heart, brain, and eyes. Gross and histologic lesions are consistent with ischemia caused by a primary vascular injury. A blood lead concentration of greater than 4 ppm and markedly elevated liver lead concentrations were associated with a greater likelihood of lesions in the heart. Severe lead intoxication is frequently associated with lesions that are histologically detectable in bald eagles. The presence of fibrinoid arterial necrosis and parenchymal degeneration, necrosis, and/or hemorrhage within the heart, brain, and/or eyes is suggestive of lead toxicity in bald eagles and warrants evaluation of liver or bone lead concentrations.

Prevalence and Molecular Characteristics of Clostridium difficile in Retail Meats, Food-Producing and Companion Animals, and Humans in Minnesota.

Community-associated Clostridium difficile infection (CA-CDI) now accounts for approximately 50% of CDI cases in central Minnesota; animals and meat products are potential sources. From November 2011 to July 2013, we cultured retail meat products and fecal samples from food-producing and companion animals in central Minnesota for C. difficile by using standard methods. The resulting 51 C. difficile isolates, plus 30 archived local veterinary C. difficile isolates and 208 human CA-CDI case isolates from central Minnesota (from 2012) from the Minnesota Department of Health, were characterized molecularly, and source groups were compared using discriminant analysis. C. difficile was recovered from 0 (0%) of 342 retail meat samples and 51 (9%) of 559 animal fecal samples. Overall, the 81 animal source isolates and 208 human source isolates were highly diverse genetically. Molecular traits segregated extensively in relation to animal versus human origin. Discriminant analysis classified 95% of isolates correctly by source group; only five (2.5%) human source isolates were classified as animal source. These data do not support meat products or food-producing and companion animals as important sources of CA-CDI in the central Minnesota study region.

Understanding Q Fever Risk to Humans in Minnesota Through the Analysis of Spatiotemporal Trends.

Q fever is a widely distributed, yet, neglected zoonotic disease, for which domestic ruminants are considered the main reservoirs in some countries. There are still many gaps in our knowledge of its epidemiology, and the source of sporadic cases is often not determined. In this study, we show how Q fever surveillance data in combination with information routinely collected by government agencies in Minnesota during 1997 to 2015 can be used to characterize patterns of occurrence of Q fever illnesses and detect variables potentially associated with increased human illness. Cluster analysis and Bayesian spatial regression modeling revealed the presence of areas in Southern Minnesota at higher risk of Q fever. The number of sheep flocks at the county level helped to explain the observed number of human cases, while no association with the cattle or goat population was observed. Our results provide information about the heterogeneous spatial distribution of risk of Q fever in Minnesota.

Epidemiologic evaluation of canine urolithiasis in Thailand from 2009 to 2015.

The cross-sectional study described the epidemiology of 8560 canine urolith submissions from Thailand to the Minnesota Urolith Center between January 2009 and December 2015. The frequency of urolith types, the relationships between urolith type and breed, sex, and neutered status, and change of annual submission proportion over the study period were analyzed. Struvite was the most common canine urolith (44%), and was commonly found in intact females with a mean age of 6.3±3.1years. Calcium oxalate was the second most common (27%), more frequently found in intact males with a mean age of 8.8±3.3years. Compound, purine, cystine, calcium phosphate, and silica urolith were less common. During the study period, the proportion of struvite urolith significantly decreased from 48% in 2009 to 39% in 2015 (p<0.001). The proportion of CaOx increased from 21% in 2009 to 32% in 2015 (p<0.001). The results of this study can help veterinarians predict urolith composition to select diagnostic tests and to initiate therapy prior to urolith removal.

Serotypes and Antimicrobial Resistance in Salmonella enterica Recovered from Clinical Samples from Cattle and Swine in Minnesota, 2006 to 2015.

Salmonellosis remains one of the leading causes of foodborne disease worldwide despite preventive efforts at various stages of the food production chain. The emergence of multi-drug resistant (MDR) non-typhoidal Salmonella enterica represents an additional challenge for public health authorities. Food animals are considered a major reservoir and potential source of foodborne salmonellosis; thus, monitoring of Salmonella strains in livestock may help to detect emergence of new serotypes/MDR phenotypes and to gain a better understanding of Salmonella epidemiology. For this reason, we analyzed trends over a nine-year period in serotypes, and antimicrobial resistance, of Salmonella isolates recovered at the Minnesota Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory (MVDL) from swine (n = 2,537) and cattle (n = 1,028) samples. Prevalence of predominant serotypes changed over time; in swine, S. Typhimurium and S. Derby decreased and S. Agona and S. 4,5,12:i:- increased throughout the study period. In cattle, S. Dublin, S. Montevideo and S. Cerro increased and S. Muenster became less frequent. Median minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values and proportion of antibiotic resistant isolates were higher for those recovered from swine compared with cattle, and were particularly high for certain antibiotic-serotype combinations. The proportion of resistant swine isolates was also higher than observed in the NARMS data, probably due to the different cohort of animals represented in each dataset. Results provide insight into the dynamics of antimicrobial resistant Salmonella in livestock in Minnesota, and can help to monitor emerging trends in antimicrobial resistance.

Live Animal Markets in Minnesota: A Potential Source for Emergence of Novel Influenza A Viruses and Interspecies Transmission.

BACKGROUND: Live animal markets have been implicated in transmission of influenza A viruses (IAVs) from animals to people. We sought to characterize IAVs at 2 live animal markets in Minnesota to assess potential routes of occupational exposure and risk for interspecies transmission. METHODS: We implemented surveillance for IAVs among employees, swine, and environment (air and surfaces) during a 12-week period (October 2012-January 2013) at 2 markets epidemiologically associated with persons with swine-origin IAV (variant) infections. Real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR), viral culture, and whole-genome sequencing were performed on respiratory and environmental specimens, and serology on sera from employees at beginning and end of surveillance. RESULTS: Nasal swabs from 11 of 17 (65%) employees tested positive for IAVs by rRT-PCR; 7 employees tested positive on multiple occasions and 1 employee reported influenza-like illness. Eleven of 15 (73%) employees had baseline hemagglutination inhibition antibody titers ≥40 to swine-origin IAVs, but only 1 demonstrated a 4-fold titer increase to both swine-origin and pandemic A/Mexico/4108/2009 IAVs. IAVs were isolated from swine (72/84), air (30/45), and pen railings (5/21). Whole-genome sequencing of 122 IAVs isolated from swine and environmental specimens revealed multiple strains and subtype codetections. Multiple gene segment exchanges among and within subtypes were observed, resulting in new genetic constellations and reassortant viruses. Genetic sequence similarities of 99%-100% among IAVs of 1 market customer and swine indicated interspecies transmission. CONCLUSIONS: At markets where swine and persons are in close contact, swine-origin IAVs are prevalent and potentially provide conditions for novel IAV emergence.

Validation of good agricultural practices (GAP) on Minnesota vegetable farms.

The United States Food and Drug Administration and the Department of Agriculture jointly published the "Guide to Minimize Microbial Food Safety Hazards for Fresh Fruits and Vegetables," which is used as a basis for Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) audits. To understand barriers to incorporation of GAP by Minnesota vegetable farmers, a mail survey completed in 2008 was validated with visits to a subset of the farms. This was done to determine the extent to which actual practices matched perceived practices. Two hundred forty-six producers completed the mail survey, and 27 participated in the on-farm survey. Over 75% of the on-farm survey respondents produced vegetables on 10 acres or less and had 10 or fewer employees. Of 14 questions, excellent agreement between on-farm interviews and mail survey responses was observed on two questions, four questions had poor or slight agreement, and eight questions had no agreement. Ninety-two percent of respondents by mail said "they took measures to keep animals and pests out of packing and storage buildings." However, with the on-site visit only 45% met this requirement. Similarly, 81% of respondents by mail said "measures were taken to reduce the risk of wild and/or domestic animals entering into fruit and vegetable growing areas." With direct observation, 70% of farms actually had taken measures to keep animals out of the growing areas. Additional, on-farm assessments were done regarding employee hygiene, training, presence of animals, water sources, and composting practices. This validation study demonstrated the challenge of creating nonleading and concise questions that are not open to broad interpretation from the respondents. If mail surveys are used to assess GAP, they should include open-ended questions and ranking systems to better assess farm practices. To provide the most accurate survey data for educational purposes or GAP audits, on-farm visits are recommended.