ResearchGate profile
USU profile
Kellogg Endowed Chair of Agroecological Management
Director, Agroecological Management Program
Professor, School of Environment and Natural Resources
Background
Born in Boston, I grew up in Utah before doing my undergraduate work in California (Deep Springs College) and New York (Cornell). My three graduate degrees are all from the University of Wisconsin – a MS in Rural Sociology, MA in Agricultural Economics, and PhD in Sociology. I worked and did research in Nepal and Indonesia in the 1980s, and have raised sheep, chickens and livestock guard dogs since the early 1990s.
I moved to Ohio State in August 2016 after spending the last 15 years as a faculty member in the Department of Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology at Utah State University. Prior to that, I served as Co-Director of the Program on Agricultural Technology Studies (and faculty member with a joint appointment in Sociology and Urban & Regional Planning at the University of Wisconsin-Madison).
My office and work team are based at the Ohio Agriculture Research and Development Center (OARDC) – OSU’s large agricultural research station based in Wooster, Ohio (90 miles northeast of Columbus, in the heart of Amish country). There is a growing group of SENR faculty, graduate students, and post-docs based at the OARDC working on interdisciplinary and engaged scholarship and outreach related to social and environmental aspects of complex working landscapes. While my research and home are in Wooster, I regularly come to the Columbus campus to teach and meet with faculty, students, and colleagues.
Research Interests
I am broadly trained as a sociologist, with significant background in geography, economics, political science, and anthropology. I believe deeply in the value of using social science theory and mixed methods to address pressing problems in the United States and abroad. Throughout my career, I have sought to balance the importance of structural determinants of social outcomes with the notion that individual and collective actors have significant agency in determining their choices and behaviors. My work has spanned multiple, overlapping scales to better understand the relative contributions of individual, household, community, institutional, and national/global drivers of farm structural change, land use transformations, and environmentally-relevant behaviors.
I utilize a wide range of quantitative and qualitative methods to collect data in my research, including extensive use of secondary data, mail and internet surveys, key informant interviews, and focus groups). I have published research using multivariate statistical modeling as well as structured iterative analysis of qualitative data. I am particularly interested in finding ways to use geospatial technology and data to explore ways to integrate spatial processes and outcomes into my work.
Nearly all of my research is deeply collaborative and interdisciplinary, and my published work is targeted at journals and audiences across both social science and environmental science disciplines and outlets. I am increasingly interested in participatory and engaged models of scholarship, and seek opportunities to integrate the voices and experiences of farmers, citizens, and stakeholders in the design and use of scientific research.
Active Research Projects
Most of my active research program is focused on topics related to agriculture, water, and the dynamics of working landscapes. My currently active research projects include work designed to:
- Compare the social, economic and environmental tradeoffs associated with different approaches to integrating crop and livestock systems.
- Explore the dynamics and impacts of participatory and on-farm research methods on farmer understanding, ownership, and trust in science on agri-environmental problems.
- Understand the complex structural and behavioral drivers of farmer conservation behaviors across farm scales, types, and farmer backgrounds/identities.
- Improve the representation of human behaviors in watershed-scale environmental models by gathering systematic social science data and using it to inform specification of the behaviors of humans in complex coupled models.
Teaching
Having recently moved to Ohio State, I have yet to build a large portfolio of courses. However, I will be teaching a seminar on ENR 8897: Research Design/Proposals in Spring 2017 and am hoping to develop courses in the Sociology of Food and Agriculture, Sustainable Agriculture Systems, and Water and Society in the coming years.
In my previous faculty roles at Utah State University and the University of Wisconsin, I taught the following courses:
- Rural Sociology (undergraduate)
- Sustainability in Food, Land and Water (undergraduate)
- Social Statistics (undergraduate)
- Natural Resources and Social Development (graduate)
- Environmental Sociology (graduate)
- Rural and Agricultural Planning (graduate)
- Research Methods (graduate)
- Research Design (graduate)
Selected Publications
Books
National Research Council. 2010. Authors: Kornegay, J.L., R.R. Harwood, S.S. Batie, D. Bucks, C.B. Flora, J. Hanson, D. Jackson-Smith, W. Jury, D. Meyer, J.P. Reganold, A. Schumacher, Jr. H. Sehmsdorf, C. Shennan, L.A. Thrupp, and P. Willis. Toward Sustainable Agricultural Systems in the 21st Century. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
Institute of Medicine and National Research Council. 2015. Authors: Nesheim, M.C., K. Clancy, J.K. Hammitt, R.A. Hammond, D.L. Haver, D. Jackson-Smith, R.S. Johnson, J.D. Kinsey, S.M. Krebs-Smith, M. Liebman, F. Mitloehner, K.M. Pollack, P.J. Stover, K.M.J. Swanson, and S.M. Swinton. A Framework for Assessing Effects of the Food System. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
Refereed Journal Articles
Eaton, W., M. Burnham, T. Robertson,, J.G. Arbuckle, K.J. Brasier, M. Burbach, S. Church, G. Hart-Fredeluces, D, Jackson-Smith, G. Wildermuth, et al. (Forthcoming). Advancing the scholarship and practice of stakeholder engagement in working landscapes: A co-produced research agenda" Socio-Ecological Practice Research.
Wardropper, C, Genskow, K, Lavoie, A., Franklin, D., Usher, E., Wilke, A., Arbuckle, J., Jackson-Smith, D., Prokopy, L., and Rissman, A. (forthcoming). Comparing states’ Nutrient Reduction Strategies in the US Upper Mississippi River Basin. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation.
Spangler, K., E. Burchfield, C. Radel, D. Jackson-Smith, and R. Johnson. 2022. Crop diversification in Idaho’s Magic Valley: the present and the imaginary. Agronomy for Sustainable Development 42(99) https://doi.org/10.1007/s13593-022-00833-0
Brock*, C., J. Pempek, D. Jackson-Smith, L. de Costa, and G. Habing. (forthcoming) Managing organic dairy herd health: Current roles and possible futures for veterinarians with organic clientele. Journal of Dairy Science. 105(10): 8328-8341. https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2021-21720
Ulrich-Schad, J.D., S. Li, J. Arbuckle, E. Avemegah, K. Brasier, M. Burnham, A.K. Chaudhary, W. Eaton, W. Gu, T. Haigh, D. Jackson-Smith, A. Metcalf, A. Pradhananga, L. Prokopy, M. Sanderson, E. Wade, and A. Wilke. 2022. An inventory and assessment of sample sources for survey research with agricultural producers in the U.S. Society and Natural Resources 35(7):804-812. https://doi.org/10.1080/08941920.2022.2081392
Veisi*, H., D. Jackson-Smith, and L. Arrueta*. 2022. Alignment of stakeholder and scientist understandings and expectations in a participatory modeling project. Environmental Science and Policy 134:57-66. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2022.04.004
Epanchin-Niell, R. S., D. B. Jackson-Smith, R.S. Wilson, M. Ashenfarb, A. Dayer, V. Hillis, G.D. Iacona, E.M. Markowitz, S.T. Marquart-Pyatt, and T. Treakle. 2022. Private land conservation decision-making: an integrative social science model. Journal of Environmental Management 302:113961. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.113961
Arrueta*, L., M. Kalcik, and D. Jackson-Smith. 2022. Simulating behavioral heterogeneity in watershed models: A systematic review of fertilizer use in SWAT studies. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation 77(3):249-260. https://doi:10.2489/jswc.2022.00055
Sprunger, C., S. Culman, L. Deiss, C. Brock*, and D. Jackson-Smith. 2021. Which management practices influence soil health in Midwest organic corn systems? Agronomy Journal 113:4201-4219. https://doi.org/10.1002/agj2.20786.
Culman, S., C. Brock*, D. Doohan, D. Jackson-Smith, C. Herms, V.N. Chaganti, M. Kleinhenz, C.D. Sprunger, and J. Spargo. 2021. Base cation saturation ratios vs. sufficiency level of nutrients: a false dichotomy in practice. Agronomy Journal 113(6):5623-5634. https://doi.org/10.1002/agj2.20787
Brock, C.*, D. Jackson-Smith, S. Culman, C. Herms and D. Doohan. 2021. Organic corn production practices and profitability in the eastern Corn Belt. Sustainability 13: 8682. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13168682
Dillon, M.E*., and D. Jackson-Smith 2021. Impact of the veterinary feed directive on Ohio cattle operations. PLOS ONE 16(8): e0255911. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0255911
Kast, J*., M. Kalcic, R. Wilson, D. Jackson-Smith, and J. Martin. 2021. Evaluating the efficacy of targeting options for conservation practice adoption on watershed-scale phosphorus reductions. Water Research 201: 117373. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2021.117375
Jackson-Smith, D. and H. Veisi*. 2021. Media Coverage of a Pandemic's Impacts on Farmers and Implications for Agricultural Resilience and Adaptation. Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development 10(2):157-179. https://doi.org/10.5304/jafscd.2021.102.039
Brock, C.*, J. Pempek, D. Jackson-Smith. L. da Costa, and G. Habing. 2021. Organic dairy producer experiences and decisions on disease prevention and treatment. Journal of Dairy Science 104(5):5867-5880. https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2020-19621
Brock, C.*, D. Jackson-Smith, S. Culman, D. Doohan, and C. Herms. 2020. Organic farmer and consultant conceptions of and experiences with soil balancing. Agriculture and Human Values 38:449-465. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10460-020-10165-y
Brock, C.*, D. Jackson-Smith, S. Kumurappan, and S. Culman. 2020. The prevalence and practice of soil balancing among organic corn farmers. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems 36(4):365-374. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1742170520000381
Barnett, M.*, Jackson-Smith, D., J. Endter-Wada, and M. Haeffner. 2020. A multilevel analysis of the drivers of household water consumption in a semi-arid region. Science of the Total Environment 712:136489. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.136489
Ahmed, S.* and D. Jackson-Smith. 2019. Impacts of spatial patterns of rural and exurban residential development on agricultural trends in the Intermountain West. Sage Open, July-Sept 2019: 1-15. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/2158244019871037
Flint, C., Dean, T., Yang, B. and D. Jackson-Smith. 2019 Transdisciplinary socio-scientific practice: lessons learned from social and engineering water science. Socio-Ecological Practice Research. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42532-019-00007-5
Barnett, M.*, Jackson-Smith, D., J. Endter-Wada. 2019. Implications of nontraditional housing arrangements for urban water management in the United States Intermountain West. Society and Natural Resources 32(5): 508-529. https://doi.org/10.1080/08941920.2018.1539200
Stoker, P., R. Ewing, M. Buchert, and D. Jackson-Smith. 2019. Neighborhood effects on parcel level water use. Sustainable Water Resources Management. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40899-019-00306-5
Jackson-Smith, D., S. Ewing, A. Sigler, C. Jones, and A. Armstrong*. 2018. The road less travelled: assessing the impacts of farmer and stakeholder participation in groundwater nitrate pollution research. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation 73(6):610-622. https://doi.org/10.2489/jswc.73.6.610
Barnett*, M., D. Jackson-Smith, and M. Haeffner. 2018. Influence of recreational activities on water quality perceptions and concerns: a replicated analysis. Journal of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism 22: 26-36. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jort.2017.12.003
Armstrong*, A. and D. Jackson-Smith. 2018. Privatization and inter-municipal collaboration in local stormwater planning and management. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management 62(3):1693-1713. https://doi.org/10.1080/09640568.2018.1462774
Hale, R., C. Flint, D. Jackson-Smith and J. Endter-Wada. 2018. Social Dimensions of Urban Flood Experience, Exposure, and Concern. Journal of the American Water Resources Association. 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1111/1752-1688.12676.
Haeffner*, M., D. Jackson-Smith, and C.G. Flint. 2018 Social position influencing the water perception gap between local leaders and constituents in a socio-hydrological system. Water Resources Research. 54. https://doi.org/10.1002/2017WR021456.
Sigler, W.A., S.A Ewing, C.A Jones, R.A Payn, E.N.J. Brookshire, J.K Klassen, D. Jackson-Smith, G.S. Weissmann,. 2018. Connections among soil, ground, and surface water chemistries characterize nitrogen loss from an agricultural landscape in the upper Missouri River basin. Journal of Hydrology 556: 247-261. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2017.10.018
Vincelli, P., D. Jackson-Smith, M. Holsapple, M.A. Grusak, M. Harsh, T. Klein, J. Lambert, B.M. Lange, D.M. Lodge, J. McCluskey, A. Murphy, M.L. Neuhouser, C. Pray, and S. Weller. 2017 “National Academies report has broad support.” Nature Biotechnology 35(4): 304-306. doi:10.1038/nbt.3842
Armstrong*, A. and D. Jackson-Smith. 2017 Connections and collaborations of local water management organizations of Utah. Society and Natural Resources 30(11): 1343-1357. https://doi.org/10.1080/08941920.2017.1347972
Haeffner*, M., D. Jackson-Smith, M. Buchert, and J. Risley*. 2017. Accessing blue spaces: social and geographic factors structuring familiarity with, use of, and appreciation of urban waterways. Landscape and Urban Planning 167: 136-146. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2017.06.008.
C.G. Flint, X. Dai, D. Jackson-Smith, J. Endter-Wada, S.K. Yeo, R. Hale & M.K. Dolan. 2017. Social and geographic contexts of water concerns in Utah. Society & Natural Resources 30(8):885-902. https://doi.org/10.1080/08941920.2016.1264653.
Jackson-Smith, D., C. Flint, M. Dolan, C. Trentelman, G. Holyoak*, B. Thomas, and G. Ma. Effectiveness of the Drop-Off/Pick-Up Method in Different Neighborhood Types. 2016. Journal of Rural Social Sciences 31(3): 35-67. Open-access journal: http://journalofruralsocialsciences.org/.
Jackson-Smith, D., P.A. Stoker, M. Buchert, J. Endter-Wada, C. Licon, M. Cannon, S. Li, Z. Bjerregaard, and L. Bell. 2016 Differentiating Urban Forms: A Neighborhood Typology for Understanding Urban Water Systems, Cities and the Environment (CATE): Vol. 9: Iss. 1, Article 5. Http://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/cate/vol9/iss1/5
Ellis, C., G. Theodori, P. Petrzelka, D. Jackson-Smith, and A. Luloff. 2016. Unconventional Risks: The Experience of Acute Energy Development in the Eagle Ford Shale. Energy Research & Social Science 20: 91-98. DOI: 10.1016/j.erss.2016.05.006
Jones, A.S., J. Horsburgh, D. Jackson-Smith, M. Ramirez, and C.G. Flint. 2016. A web-based, interactive visualization tool for social environmental survey data. Environmental Modeling and Software 84:412-426. DOI: 10.1016/j.envsoft.2016.07.013
Hale, R.L., A. Armstrong*, M.A. Baker, S. Bedingfield, D. Betts, C. Buahin, M. Buchert, T. Crowl, R.R. Dupont, J.R. Ehleringer, J. Endter-Wada, C. Flint, J. Grant, S. Hinners, J.S. Horsburgh, D. Jackson-Smith, A.S. Jones, C. Licon, S.E. Null, A. Odame, D.E. Pataki, D. Rosenberg, M. Runburg, P. Stoker, C. Strong. 2015. iSAW: Integrating Structure, Actors, and Water to Study Socio-Hydro-Ecological Systems. Earth’s Future Vol 3. https://doi.org/10.1002/2014EF000295.
Reganold, J.P., D. Jackson-Smith, S.S. Batie, R.R. Harwood, J.L. Kornegay, D. Bucks, C.B. Flora, J.C. Hanson, W.A. Jury, D. Meyer, A. Schumacher, Jr., H. Sehmsdorf, C. Shennan, L.A. Thrupp, and P. Willis. 2011. “Transforming U.S. Agriculture.” Science 332: 670-671.
Book Chapters
Jackson-Smith, D. and P. Petrzelka. 2014. “Land Ownership in American Agriculture.” In C. Bailey, L. Jensen, and E. Ransom (Eds.) Rural America in a Globalizing World: Problems and Prospects for the 2010s. Morgantown, WV: West Virginia University Press.
Clark, Jill K., Shoshanah Inwood, Molly Bean Smith, Jeff S. Sharp, and Douglas Jackson-Smith. 2012. “Local Food Systems: The Birth of New Farmers and the Demise of the Family Farm?” In International Geographical Union Commission on the Dynamics of Economic Spaces Local Food Systems in Old Industrial Regions: Challenges and Opportunities. Brookfield, VT: Ashgate Publishing.
Jackson-Smith, D. 2010. “Vulnerabilities & values: Expanding our understanding of human aspects of complex watershed processes in the study of nonpoint source pollution.” Pp. 13-32 in P. Nowak and M. Schnepf, Eds. Managing Agricultural Landscapes for Environmental Quality: Achieving More Effective Conservation. Ankeny, IA: Soil and Water Conservation Society.
Clark, K., S. Inwood, J.S. Sharp, and D. Jackson-Smith. 2010. “Community-level influences on agricultural trajectories: seven cases across exurban US.” Pp. 200-219 in Geographical Perspectives on Sustainable Rural Change. Eds. Dick G. Winchell, Doug Ramsey, Rhonda Koster, and Guy M. Robinson. Brandon, Manitoba, Canada: Brandon University Press.
Jackson-Smith, D., E. Jensen, and B. Jennings. 2006. “Land Use Change in the Rural Intermountain West.” Pp. 253-276 in W. Kandel and D. Brown (Eds.) Population Change and Rural Society. Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Springer.
Jackson-Smith, D. 2004. “The Social Aspects of Agriculture.” Pp. 159-174 in M.J. Manfredo, J. J. Vaske, D. R. Field, P. J. Brown, and B. L. Bruyere (eds.) Society and Natural Resources: A Summary of Knowledge. Jefferson City, MO: Modern Litho.
Jackson-Smith, D.B. 2003. "Transforming Rural America: The Challenges of Land Use Change in the Twenty-First Century." Pp. 305-316 in Challenges for Rural America in the Twenty-First Century, edited by D.L. Brown and L.E. Swanson. University Park, PA: The Pennsylvania State University Press.