Aug 2, 2023

Farm Medicine scientist recognized for studying farm household challenges

A Farm Medicine scientist has received recognition for her studies on the social and economic challenges faced by farm households.

A Sept. 13 webinar is also scheduled to increase awareness about those difficulties facing farm families.

Florence Becot, Ph.D., an associate research scientist with the National Farm Medicine Center, Marshfield Clinic Research Institute, is part of a team that received the Excellence in Scholarship award from the Agriculture, Food and Human Values Society for the team’s integrated research and Extension work.

Becot and colleagues Shoshanah Inwood, Ph.D., of Ohio State University, and Andrea Rissing, Ph.D., of Arizona State University, received the award June 3 during the society’s annual conference at Boston University.

Becot, Inwood and Rissing conduct research on the social and economic challenges faced by farm households. They are studying how access to quality affordable child care, health care and health insurance impacts both the quality-of-life of farm households and farm business development and resilience. The society acknowledged their research as making a vital contribution to farm viability, rural economies and quality of life.

To bring awareness to the social and economic challenges experienced by farm families, as well as their consequences, Becot and Inwood are helping organize a Sept. 13 online conference.

The conference is supported by the Farm Foundation. Co-organizers include the National Farm Medicine Center, Ohio State University, the USDA Economic Research Service and Colorado State University. Selected papers from the conference will be published in a special issue of the journal Agriculture and Human Values.

Photo at top: Andrea Rissing, Arizona State, from left, Florence Becot, National Farm Medicine Center, and Shoshanah Inwood, Ohio State, have been honored for their studies of the challenges facing farm families by the Agriculture, Food and Human Values Society.