• Florence Becot Ph.D., M.Sc.

  • Associate Research Scientist


    • MCRI - MCRI-National Farm Medicine
    • 1000 North Oak Ave. ML8 Marshfield, WI 54449
    • (715) 389-9379

Education

2017 to 2020:
Ph.D., Environment and Natural Resources/Rural Sociology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH
2011 to 2013:
M.Sc., Community Development and Applied Economics, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT
2002 to 2006:
Equivalent B.A., Economics and Social Sciences, Universite de Rennes 1, Rennes, France

Work Experience

2011 to 2012:
Graduate Research & Teaching Assistant, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT
2013 to 2017:
Research Specialist, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT
2017 to 2017:
Lecturer, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT
2018 to 2018:
Teaching Research Associate, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH
2017 to 2019:
Graduate Research Associate, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH
2020 to Present:
Associate Research Scientist, Marshfield Clinic Research Institute, Marshfield, WI
2021 to Present:
Courtesy adjunct faculty, School of Environment and Natural Resources, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH

Honors & Awards

2017 to 2017:
Two poster awards for “Measuring social sustainability on farms and ranches” Community Development Society / National Association of Community Development Extension Professionals.
2017 to 2017:
Outstanding staff woman award for significant contributions to the lives of women on campus through service, advocacy, and/or feminist programming. University of Vermont Women’s Center.
2018 to 2018:
Student paper awards for “Disentangling French and U.S. Farmers’ health needs and access to care: An application of Bourdieu’s Theory of Practice”. Rural Sociological Society.
2019 to 2019:
Honorable Mention for 2018’s Outstanding Choices Article for “Health insurance as part of national farm policy”. Lead author Inwood.
2023 to 2023:
Steve J. Miller Distinguished Scientist Endowment in Rural and Agricultural Health and Safety Research

Statement

Dr. Florence Becot is a rural sociologist with 10 years of agricultural interdisciplinary research experience. As an associate scientist at the Marshfield Clinic at the National Farm Medicine Center, her research program focuses on the health, well-being, safety, and economic viability of farm families in the United States and France. Her research first considers the ways in which difficulties meeting social needs such as health care, childcare, or aging, expand beyond the confines of the personal sphere and can have direct implications on the farm including the adoption of farm safety practices and farm business development. Directly tied to farm households’ ability to meet their social needs, her work also explores the availability and types of social supports, including crisis support, as well as the role of these support systems in supporting farm households and their farm business. Dr. Becot earned her PhD from the Ohio State University and was previously a researcher at the University of Vermont Center for Rural Studies.

Two CDC-NIOSH funded projects I am currently leading:
-Linking childcare to farm children safety: https://www.marshfieldresearch.org/nccrahs/FarmChildrenChildcare
-Farmers' mental health help-seeking strategies: z.umn.edu/UMASH-farmer-mental-health-research


Research Interests

Farm persistence/resilience
Farm health and safety
Sociology of food and agriculture
Social stratification
Social and agricultural policies
Community and economic development
Cross-national comparative research
Relational theoretical approaches

Professional Societies

2012 to Present:
Agriculture Food and Human Values Society,
2015 to Present:
Rural Sociological Society,
2017 to Present:
European Society for Rural Sociology,
2020 to Present:
International Society for Agricultural Safety and Health
2020 to Present:
International Sociological Association

Committees

2016 to 2018:
Agriculture Food and Human Values Society, Elected board member and chair of graduate student/early career professional committee
2018 to 2018:
Agriculture Food and Human Values Society, Member professional awards committee
2018 to 2019:
Rural Sociological Society, Appointed member development committee
2018 to 2021:
Rural Sociological Society, Elected co-chair then chair of the Sociology of Food and Agriculture research interest group
2020 to Present:
Agriculture Food and Human Values Society, Appointed chair of the Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion committee

Select Publications

  • Becot FA, Nickerson V, Conner DS, Kolodinsky JM. Costs of Food Safety Certification on Fresh Produce Farms in Vermont. HortTechnology. 2012 October; 22 doi: https://doi.org/10.21273/HORTTECH.22.5.705.
  • Conner D, Becot F, Hoffer D, Kahler E, Sawyer S, Berlin L. Measuring Current Consumption of Locally Grown Foods in Vermont: Methods for Baselines and Targets. [published online ahead of print 2013 May 17]. Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development. 3(3):83-94. doi: https://doi.org/10.5304/jafscd.2013.033.004.
  • Conner D, Becot F, Kolodinsky J, Resnicow S, Finley Woodruff K. Fostering the next generation of agri-food entrepreneurs in Vermont: Implications for university based education. NACTA Journal. 2014 September; 58(3):221-229. doi: https://www.jstor.org/stable/nactajournal.58.3.221.
  • Becot FA, Conner DS, Kolodinsky JM, Mendez VE. Measuring the Costs of Production and Pricing on Diversified Farms: Juggling Decisions amidst Uncertainties. Journal of the American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers. 2014 June; :174-191. doi: https://www.jstor.org/stable/jasfmra.2014.174.
  • Conner D, Estrin H, Becot F. High school harvest: Combining food service training and institutional procurement. Journal of Extension. 2014 February; 52(1)doi: http://www.joe.org/joe/2014february/iw7.php.
  • Becot, F., Connor, D., Nelson, A., Buckwalter, E., Erickson, D.. Institutional demand for locally-grown food in Vermont: marketing implications for producers and distributors. Journal of Food Distribution Research. 2014 July; 45(2):99-117. doi: https://doi.org/10.22004/ag.econ.186927.
  • Becot F, Conner D, Kolodinsky J. Where Do Agri-Food Entrepreneurs Learn Their Job and are There Skills They Wished They Had Learned? International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation. 2015 August; 16(3):207-215. doi: 10.5367/ijei.2015.0192.
  • Becot FA, Bradshaw TL, Conner DS. Apple Market Expansion through Value-added Hard Cider Production: Current Production and Prospects in Vermont. HortTechnology. 2016 April; 26(2):220-229. doi: 10.21273/HORTTECH.26.2.220.
  • Becot F, Conner D, Imrie D, Ettman K. Assessing the impacts of hospital local food procurement: results from Vermont. Journal of Foodservice Management and Education . 2016 January; 10(1)
  • Seguin RA, Morgan EH, Hanson KL, Ammerman AS, Jilcott Pitts SB, Kolodinsky J,...McGuirt JT. Farm Fresh Foods for Healthy Kids (F3HK): An innovative community supported agriculture intervention to prevent childhood obesity in low-income families and strengthen local agricultural economies. BMC Public Health.. 2017 April 8; 17(1):306. doi: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-017-4202-2. PMCID: PMC5385092.
    PubMed ID: 28390403
  • Conner D, Becot F, Imrie D. Critical Reflections on Local Food Economic Contribution Analysis. [published online ahead of print 2017 February 8]. Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development. 7(2)doi: 10.5304/jafscd.2017.072.001.
  • Becot F, Kolodinsky J, Roche E, Zipparo A, Berlin L, Buckwalter E, McLaughlin J. Do Farm-to-School Programs Create Local Economic Impacts? Choices. 2017 January; 32(1)doi: https://www.jstor.org/stable/90014634.
  • Kolodinsky JM, Sitaker M, Morgan EH, Connor LM, Hanson KL, Becot F,...Seguin RA. Can CSA Cost-Offset Programs Improve Diet Quality for Limited Resource Families? Choices. 2017 January; 32(1)doi: https://www.jstor.org/stable/90014635.
  • Morgan E, Severs M, Hanson K, McGuirt J, Becot F, Wang W,...Seguin R. Gaining and Maintaining a Competitive Edge: Evidence from CSA Members and Farmers on Local Food Marketing Strategies. Sustainability. 2018 June 26; 10(7)doi: 10.3390/su10072177.
  • F. Becot, T.L. Bradshaw, D. Conner. Growing apples for the cider industry in the US northern climate of Vermont: does the math add up? ActaHort. 2018 June; doi: 10.17660/ActaHortic.2018.1205.56.
  • Inwood S, Knudson A, Becot FA, Braun B, Goetz SJ, Kolodinsky JM,...Albrecht DE. Health Insurance and National Farm Policy. Choices. 2018 June; 33(1)doi: https://www.jstor.org/stable/26487425 .
  • Pivarnik LF, Richard NL, Wright-Hirsch D, Becot F, Conner D, Parker J. Small- and Medium-Scale New England Produce Growers’ Knowledge, Attitudes and Implementation of On-farm Food Safety Practices. International Association for Food Protection. 2018 May; 38(3):156-170.
  • Becot F. Singlewide: Chasing the American dream in a rural trailer park, by Sonya Salamon and Katherine MacTavish, book review. Rural Sociology. 2018 January; 83(4):912-914. doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/ruso.12257.
  • Inwood S, Becot F, Bjornestad A, Henning-Smith C, Alberth A. Responding to Crisis: Farmer Mental Health Programs in the Extension North Central Region. Journal of Extension. 2019 December 20; 57(6)doi: https://www.joe.org/joe/2019december/rb1.php.
  • Becot F. I Am Not a Tractor! How Florida Farmworkers Took on the Fast Food Giants and Won, by Susan L Marquis, book review. Agriculture and Human Values. 2019 January; 36(2):369-70. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10460-018-09901-2 .
  • McGuirt JT, Jilcott Pitts SB, Hanson KL, DeMarco M, Seguin RA, Kolodinsky J,...Ammerman AS. A modified choice experiment to examine willingness to participate in a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program among low-income parents. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems. 2020 April; 35(2):140-157. doi: 10.1017/S1742170518000364.
  • Becot FA, Sitaker M, Kolodinsky JM, Morgan EH, Wang W, Garner J,...Seguin RA. Can a shift in the purchase of local foods by Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients impact the local economy? Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems. 2020 February; 35(1):90-101. doi: 10.1017/S1742170518000327.
  • Conner D, Becot F, Kahler E, Claro J, Harlow A. Counting Local Food Consumption: Longitudinal Data and Lessons from Vermont. [published online ahead of print 2020 January 20]. Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development. 9(2):87-100. doi: 10.5304/jafscd.2020.092.007.
  • Becot FA, Inwood SM. The case for integrating household social needs and social policy into the international family farm research agenda. Journal of Rural Studies. 2020 June; doi: doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2020.05.005.
  • Becot F, Parker J, Conner D, Pivarnik L, Richard N, Wright-Hirsch D. Financially able and willing to invest in food safety practices? The example of produce growers in New England states (USA). Food Control. 2020 July; doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodcont.2020.107451.
  • Sitaker M, McCall M, Morgan E, Wang W, Kolodinsky J, McGuirt J,...Becot F. Balancing Social Values with Economic Realities: Farmer Experience with a Cost-offset CSA. [published online ahead of print 2020 July 22]. Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development. 9(4):1-15. doi: doi.org/10.5304/jafscd.2020.094.004.
  • Becot F, Inwood S, Bendixsen C, Henning-Smith C. Health Care and Health Insurance Access for Farm Families in the United States during COVID-19: Essential Workers without Essential Resources? [published online ahead of print 2020 September 12]. Journal of Agromedicine. doi: doi.org/10.1080/1059924X.2020.1814924.
  • Meyer C, Becot F, Burke R, Weichelt B. Rural Telehealth Use during the COVID-19 Pandemic: How Long-term Infrastructure Commitment May Support Rural Health Care Systems Resilience. [published online ahead of print 2020 September 12]. Journal of Agromedicine. doi: doi.org/10.1080/1059924X.2020.1814921.
  • Henning-Smith C, Alberth A, Bjornestad A, Becot F, Inwood S. Farmer mental health in the US Midwest: Key informant perspectives. Journal of Agromedicine. 2021 July; 26(3)
  • Florence A. Becot. Pushing beyond boundaries as a pre-tenure rural sociologist who is not from around here. [published online ahead of print 2021 April 8]. Agriculture and Human Values. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10460-021-10209-x.
  • Becot F, Bendixsen C, Barnes K, Rudolphi J. Broadening Our Understanding of Farm Children’s Risk Exposure by Considering Their Parents’ Farming Background. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2021 May 14; 18 doi: doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18105218.
  • Florence A. Becot, Shoshanah M. Inwood. Medical economic vulnerability: a next step in expanding the farm resilience scholarship. [published online ahead of print 2022 February 16]. Agriculture and Human Values. doi: 10.1007/s10460-022-10307-4.
  • Florence A. Becot. Children, Work, and Safety on the Farm during COVID-19: A Harder Juggling Act. [published online ahead of print 2022 April 27]. Journal of Agromedicine. doi: doi.org/10.1080/1059924X.2022.2068716.
  • Florence A. Becot, Shoshanah M. Inwood. Examining access to health insurance and health care along the life course to shed light on interactions between farm households’ social needs, social policy and the farm business. [published online ahead of print 2022 July 24]. Sociologia Ruralis. doi: 10.1111/soru.12394.
  • Florence Becot, Shoshanah Inwood, Andrea Rissing. Childcare for farm families: A key strategy to keep children safe yet largely absent from farm programming. [published online ahead of print 2022 November 8]. Frontiers in Public Health. 10 doi: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2022.1043774.
  • Matt Comi, Florence Becot. Thinking the Future of Agricultural Worker Health on a Warming Planet and an Automating Farm. [published online ahead of print 2022 October 24]. Journal of Agromedicine. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/1059924X.2022.2137617.
  • Matt Comi, Florence Becot, Casper Bendixsen. Automation, Climate Change, and the Future of Farm Work: Cross-Disciplinary Lessons for Studying Dynamic Changes in Agricultural Health and Safety. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2023 March 8; 20(6):4778. doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20064778 .