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Florida Sustainable Agriculture

Florida Sustainable Agriculture

Teams

Center for Sustainable and Organic Food Systems (CSOFS)

Our mission is to facilitate multi-disciplinary faculty teams engaged in research, Extension, and teaching relevant to the development of local and regional sustainable and organic food systems. We provide a systems perspective to pressing needs in the contemporary food and agricultural system.

We also produce Extension and other educational materials that foster critical thinking and innovation in the development of food systems, and distribute scientific information developed by the University of Florida, other land grant institutions, the United States Department of Agriculture, and other public and private institutions.

Our affiliate faculty bridge the biological and social/economic sciences. In addition, we seek to collaborate with other public agencies and private sector organizations and individuals.

Team Members

Mickie SwisherDr. Mickie Swisher works with agricultural professionals and faculty members across the University of Florida and Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University to address the research and educational needs of Florida farmers and consumers. She has expertise in domestic and international community development and 25 years of experience with the Florida Cooperative Extension Service.

Research Focus

  • The impact of the contemporary food movement with its emphasis on certification (organic, free trade, bird friendly, etc.) and on class, gender, and ethnic stratification among both producers and consumers in the United States and elsewhere.
  • The scholarship of learning and teaching, in both formal (classroom) and informal (outreach) settings. This research includes theory-based development and evaluation of educational programs and interventions in the area of sustainable agriculture and food systems.

Kaylene SattannoKaylene Sattanno is the Research Coordinator for the Center for Sustainable and Organic Food Systems. She graduated from the University of Florida in 2011 with a B.S. in Plant Science and a focus in Sustainable Crop Production. She works with Dr. Swisher to coordinate her research activities and provide support to affiliate faculty of the CSOFS.

Publications

Ask IFAS - powered by EDIS - is your everyday information source. It is a comprehensive, single-source repository of all current UF/IFAS numbered peer-reviewed publications. You may also view Dr. Swisher's publications and presentations, which are categorized here by year.

  • 2022

    Dawe, L. L., Jones, J. A., Swisher, M. E., and Ortiz, P. (2022) Dismantling: A Narrative Analysis of the Evolution of and Factors that Influence White Anti-Racist Action. Understanding & Dismantling Privilege. ISSN 2152-1875, Volume XII, Issue 2.

    DeLong, A. N., Swisher, M. E., Chase, C. A., Zhao, X., Liburd, O. E., Gao, Z., Bolques, A., and Gu, Sanjun. (2022) Stakeholder-Driven adaptive research (SDAR): Better research products. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems. 1-10. doi:10.1017/S1742170522000023

    Liu, Y., Ruiz-Menjivar, J., Zavala, M., and Swisher, M. E. (2022) Knowledge Mapping of the Extant Literature on the Environmental Impacts of Using Cover Crops—A Scientometric Study. Environments. 9(9): 120. doi:10.3390/environments9090120

    Mavah, G., Child, B., & Swisher, M. (2022) Empty Laws, Empty Forests: Reconsidering Rights and Governance for Sustainable Wildlife Management in the Republic of the Congo. African Journal of Ecology. 13(19) 10697. doi:10.1111/aje.12953

    Sattanno, K. and Swisher, M. E. (2022) Farmer Think Tank Enhancing Cover Crop Research: Stakeholder-Driven Adaptive Research (SDAR). Presentation at ASA-CSSA-SSSA International Annual Meeting. Baltimore, MD.

  • 2021

    Anglade, B., Swisher, M.E., and Koenig, R. (2021) The formal agricultural input sector: A missing asset in developing nations? Sustainability. 13(19) 10697. doi:10.3390/su131910697

    Donovan, M., Swisher, M. E., Coolong, T., & Zhao, X. (2021) Virtual High Tunnel Organic Tomato Variety Assessment. Presentation at III International Organic Fruit Symposium and I International Organic Vegetable Symposium (virtual). Catania, Italy.

    Donovan, M., Swisher, M. E., Sattanno, K., and Zhao, X. (2021) Grower Assessment of Organic Tomato Nutrient Management Factors in a High Tunnel. Presentation at the Annual Conference of the American Society for Horticultural Sciences (virtual). Denver, CO.

    Donovan, M., Swisher, M. E., Sattanno, K., & Zhao, X. (2021) Engaging Growers and Agricultural Service Providers in a Diverse Advisory Panel on Organic High Tunnel Research. Presentation at Annual Meeting of the Florida State Horticultural Society. Daytona Beach, FL.

    Moore, K., Swisher, M., Koenig, R., Monval, N., Tartar, A., Milord, E., and Delva, L. (2021) Capitalizing on the Strengths of Farmer Organizations as Potential Change Agents in Haiti. Journal of Rural Studies. 85:68-78. doi:10.1016/j.jrurstud.2021.04.022

    Rom, C.R., Friedrich, H., Ruiz-Menjivar, J., Swisher, M., Samtani, J., Chase, C.A. Lea-Cox, J. & McWhirt, A. (2021) Collaborative Development of a National Strawberry Research and Outreach Project for Underserved Growers. Presentation at IX International Strawberry Symposium. Rimini, Italy.

  • 2020

    DeLong, A.N., Swisher, M.E., Chase, C.A., Ruiz-Menjivar, J. & Irani, T. (2020) Emerging identities of a new generation of farmers: A systematic literature review. Presentation at the Annual Conference of the American Society for Horticultural Sciences. Orlando, FL. 2020 ASHS SOS DeLong Presentation

    DeLong, A.N., Swisher, M.E., Chase, C.A., Zhao, X., Liburd, O. & Gao, Z. (2020) Farmer field trials: A pathway to enhance research efficacy. Presentation at the meeting of the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Board on Agriculture and Natural Resources. Gainesville, FL.

    DeLong, A.N., Swisher, M.E., Chase, C.A., Zhao, X., Liburd, O.E. & Gao, Z. (2020) Shared decision-making in agricultural research: Farmers and scientists developing adoptable outcomes. Presentation at the joint meeting of the Agriculture, Food and Human Values Society and the Association for the Study of Food and Society. Athens, GA. (Conference canceled)

    DeLong, A.N., Swisher, M.E., Chase, C.A., Zhao, X., Liburd, O.E. & Gao, Z. (2020) Training social science graduate students in agricultural fields. Presentation at the annual meeting of the North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture. Las Cruces, NM. (Conference canceled)

    Donovan, M., Ruiz-Menjivar, J., Swisher, M.E., Rom, C.R., Friedrich, H., Samtani, J., Chase, C., Lea-Cox, J. & McWhirt, A. (2020) Evaluating the Needs and Sustainability Barriers of Strawberry Growers in the United States: A Mixed Data Clustering Approach. Presentation at the Annual Conference of the American Society for Horticultural Sciences. Orlando, FL. 2020 ASHS Strawberry Cluster Presentation

    Donovan, M., Swisher, M. E., Sattanno, K., & Zhao, X. (2020) Nutrient Management in High Tunnels: Grower Perspectives on Experimental Design. Presentation at the meeting of the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Board on Agriculture and Natural Resources. Gainesville, FL.

    Donovan, M., Swisher, M. E., Sattanno, K., & Zhao, X. (2020) Nutrient Management Regime Assessment of Organic Tomatoes Raised in a High Tunnel. Presentation at the Southern Region Sustainable Agriculture Working Group Annual Conference. Little Rock, AR.

    Donovan, M., Swisher, M. E., Sattanno, K., & Zhao, X. (2020) Nutrient Management Regime Grower Assessment of Organic Pak Choi in a High Tunnel. Presentation at the Annual Conference of the American Society for Horticultural Sciences. Orlando, FL. 2020 ASHS Organic High Tunnel Poster

    Fiorini, A. C. O., Mullally, C., Swisher, M. E., & Putz, F. E. (2020) Forest cover effects of payments for ecosystem services: Evidence from an impact evaluation in Brazil. Ecological Economics. 169, 2020, 106522. doi:10.1016/j.ecolecon.2019.106522

    Fiorini, A. C. O., Swisher, M. E., & Putz, F. E. (2020) Payment for Environment Services to Promote Compliance with Brazil’s Forest Code: The Case of “Produtores de Água e Floresta.” Sustainability. 12(19):8138. doi:10.3390/su12198138

    Kadagi, N.I., Wambiji, N. & Swisher, M.E. (2020) Potential for conflicts in recreational and artisanal billfish fisheries on the coast of Kenya. Marine Policy 117:103960.

    Sattanno, K., DeLong, A., Donovan, M., Swisher, M. E., Paudel, B. R., Zhu, Q., Zhao, X., Wang, J., Gao, Z., Hong, J. C., Di Gioia, F., & Rosskopf, E. N. (2020) Improving Research Outcomes through Stakeholder Feedback. Presentation at the Southern Region Sustainable Agriculture Working Group Annual Conference. Little Rock, AR.

    Sattanno, K., Donovan, M., Swisher, M. E., Sharma, S., & Chase, C. A. (2020) Improving Cover Crop Research Through Stakeholder Feedback. Presentation at the Southern Region Sustainable Agriculture Working Group Annual Conference. Little Rock, AR.

    Swisher, M.E., Delong, A., Sattanno, K., Chase, C.A., Zhao, X., Liburd, O., Gao, Z., Bolques, A. & Gu, S. (2020) Farmer-Driven Research Design: Developing More Adoptable Research Outcomes. Presentation at the Annual Conference of the American Society for Horticultural Sciences. Orlando, FL. 2020 ASHS SOS Swisher Presentation

    Talton, H.R., Rhodes, E.M., Chase, C.A., Swisher, M. E., Renkema, J.M., & Liburd, O.E. (2020) Effect of Cultural Practices on Neopamera bilobata in Relation to Fruit Injury and Marketable Yields in Organic Strawberries. Insects. 11:843.

    Tarbox, B. C., Swisher, M. E., Calle, Z., Wilson, C. H., & Flory, S. L. (2020) Decline in local ecological knowledge in the Colombian Andes may constrain silvopastoral tree diversity. Journal of the Society for Ecological Restoration. doi:10.1111/rec.13153

    Torres-Quezada, E., Chase, C. A., Zhao, X., Liburd, O. E., Gao, Z., & Swisher, M. E. (2020) Cover crops and strawberry cultivars for resilient organic strawberry production in Florida. Presentation at the meeting of the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Board on Agriculture and Natural Resources. Gainesville, FL.

    Vincent, I., Paudel, B., Zhao, X., Black, Z., Swisher, M.E., Sattanno, K., Hong, J., and Rosskopf, E.N. (2020) On-farm Evaluation of Anaerobic Soil Disinfestation for Organic Okra Production. Presentation at the Annual Conference of the American Society for Horticultural Sciences. Orlando, FL.

    Zhang, L., Ruiz-Menjivar, J., Luo, B., Liang, Z., and Swisher, M. E. (2020) Predicting climate change mitigation and adaptation behaviors in agricultural production: A comparison of the theory of planned behavior and the Value-Belief-Norm Theory. Journal of Environmental Psychology. 68: 101408. doi:10.1016/j.jenvp.2020.101408

  • 2019

    DeLong, A.N., Swisher, M.E., Sattanno, K., Chase, C.A., Zhao, X., Liburd, O. & Gao, Z. (2019) Co-creation of knowledge in agroecology: Collaborating to develop sustainable organic agricultural systems. Presentation at the meeting of American Society of Horticultural Sciences. Las Vegas, NV.

    DeLong, A.N., Swisher, M.E., Sattanno, K., Chase, C., Zhao, X., Liburd, O. & Gao, Z. (2019) Sustainable organic strawberry cropping systems for the Southeast. Workshop facilitated at the North American Strawberry Symposium. Orlando, FL.

    McGee, B., Park, NK., Portillo, M., Bosch, S., and Swisher, M. (2019) DIY Biophilia: Development of the biophilic interior design matrix as a design tool. Journal of Interior Design. 44(4):241-257. doi:10.1111/joid.12159

    Paudel, B.R., Di Gioia, F., Zhu, Q., Zhao, X., Ozores-Hampton, M., Swisher, M.E., Sattanno, K., Hong, J.C., and Rosskopf, E.N. (2019) Implementation of Anaerobic Soil Disinfestation in Florida Tomato Production. (HS1345). Gainesville: University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. 5 pp.

    Paudyal, R., Stein, V. T., & Swisher, M. E. (2019) Structural relations between motivations and site attribute preferences of Florida National Scenic Trail visitors. Journal of Park and Recreation Administration. doi:10.18666/JPRA-2019-10053

    Poincon, L., Swisher, M. E., Adu, N., and Anglade, B.  (2019) Rural nonprofit organizations in Haiti: Gender, power and perceived benefits of membership – Focus on Leadership for women. Women Deliver Conference. Vancouver, Canada.

    Ruiz-Menjivar, J., Swisher, M. E., Mays, A., Sattanno, K., and Brush, L. (2019) Organic food stores and Millennials consumers: findings from a Florida sample. II workshop sobre estratégias alimentares e de abastecimiento: Consumo, mercados e ação pública [Second workshop on food and supply strategies: consumption, market and public action]. Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.

    Sattanno, K., DeLong, A., Swisher, M. E., Paudel, B. R., Zhu, Q., Zhao, X., Wang, J., Gao, Z., Hong, J. C., Di Gioia, F., & Rosskopf, E. N. (2019) Anaerobic Soil Disinfestation: A Potential Alternative to Chemical Soil Fumigation. Presentation at Annual Professional Agricultural Workers Conference. Opelika, AL.

    Sattanno, K., Swisher, M. E., Pride, L., & Chase, C. A. (2019) Greening of Strawberry Plasticulture in Florida. Presentation at Annual Professional Agricultural Workers Conference. Opelika, AL.

    Swisher, M. E., Mays, A., Sattanno, K., Ruiz-Menjivar, J., & Brush, L. (2019) Organic food Stores and Millennials Shoppers: Will Farmers Whose Goal is to Serve Local Markets with Fresh Sustainably Raised Foods Benefit from the New Generation of Consumers? Proceedings for the 2019 International Conference on Cleaner Production and Sustainability. Hong Kong, P.R. China.

    Swisher, M.E., Mays, A., Sattanno, K., Ruiz-Menjivar, J., and Brush, L. (2019) Organic food Stores and Millennials Shoppers: Will Farmers Whose Goal is to Serve Local Markets with Fresh Sustainably Raised Foods Benefit from the New Generation for Consumers? Presentation at 2019 International Conference on Cleaner Production and Sustainability. Hong Kong, P.R. China.

    Swisher, M. E., Mays, A., Sattanno, K., Ruiz-Menjivar, J., and Brush, L. (2019) Organic food Stores and Millennials Shoppers: Will Farmers Whose Goal is to Serve Local Markets with Fresh Sustainably Raised Foods Benefit from the New Generation of Consumers? Proceedings for the 2019 International Conference on Cleaner Production and Sustainability. Hong Kong, P.R. China.

    Yong, L., Ruiz-Menjivar, J., Zhang, L., Zhang, J., and Swisher, M. E. (2019) Technical training and rice farmers’ adoption of low-carbon management practices: The case of soil testing and formulated fertilization technology in China. Journal of Cleaner Production. 226:454-462. doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.04.026