Florence Becot, Ph.D.

Florence is an associate professor in agricultural safety and health and the lead of Penn State's Agricultural Safety and Health program. She holds a master's degree in community development from the University of Vermont and a Ph.D. in rural sociology from the Ohio State University.

Broadly speaking, her research and outreach program is intended to understand and support the agricultural population's ability to meet their needs with an emphasis on their health, safety, well-being, and economic viability.  Topics that Florence has worked on in recent years include farm children safety,  health insurance, health care, and childcare access for farm families, and mental health in agriculture.

Florence also leverages her training and experiences working with people across disciplines and organizations to lead the Agricultural Safety and Health (ASH) Program based in the Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering at Penn State. The ASH program is well-known for its emphasis on identifying and mitigating safety hazards through engineering and educational approaches. Key ASH program expertise areas include: Farm equipment and structure, animal handling, personal protective equipment, youth safety, and injury and fatality surveillance, outreach, and education.