About

Dr. Michael T. Olexa is a Distinguished Teaching Scholar and Professor in the Food and Resource Economics Department at the University of Florida, where he also serves as the Center Director of the UF/IFAS Center for Agricultural and Natural Resource Law. Following military service, he earned his MS and Ph.D. degrees in Plant Pathology from the University of Florida, and later completed law school at Nova Southeastern University, gaining admission to The Florida Bar. His diverse career includes owning and operating a plant nursery for ten years, and working on assignment from the University of Florida to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, where he served as a policy advisor in the Office of the Secretary and as a National Program Leader for Agricultural Law Education. He teaches in both the colleges of agriculture and law, focusing on agricultural law, natural resource law, and environmental regulation, and oversees the nation's first undergraduate minor in Agricultural and Natural Resource Law. His research addresses water quality and quantity, pesticide use and impact, invasive species, and hazardous waste management. Dr. Olexa has received numerous honors, including USDA's Distinguished Service and Superior Service Awards, the USDA National Teaching Award, and recognition as a University of Florida Distinguished Teaching Scholar.

Research topics

• Political Science
• Computer Science
• Computer Security
• Geography
• Law
• Archaeology
• Ecology
• Library science
• Environmental planning
• Fishery
• Operations research
• Public administration
• Biology
• Engineering

Selected publications

• 2025 Handbook of Florida Water Regulation: State Regulatory Powers

  DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) · 2025-02-01

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  This handbook is designed to provide a summary of the principal federal and state (Florida) laws that directly or indirectly relate to agriculture. Because these laws are subject to constant revision, portions of the handbook could become outdated at any time. The reader should use it as a means to determine areas in which to seek more information and as a brief directory of agencies that can help answer more specific questions. Accessibility Summary: In accordance with Title II regulations this content meets all points of exemption as Archived web content and/or Preexisting conventional electronic documents.

  Publisher

• 2025 Handbook of Florida Water Regulation: Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act

  DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) · 2025-11-01

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  This handbook is designed to provide a summary of the principal federal and state (Florida) laws that directly or indirectly relate to agriculture. Because these laws are subject to constant revision, portions of the handbook could become outdated at any time. The reader should use it as a means to determine areas in which to seek more information and as a brief directory of agencies that can help answer more specific questions. Accessibility Summary: In accordance with Title II regulations this content meets all points of exemption as Archived web content and/or Preexisting conventional electronic documents.

  Publisher

• 2021 Handbook of Florida Water Regulation: Florida Air and Water Pollution Control Act

  DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) · 2025-02-01

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  This handbook is designed to provide a summary of the principal federal and state (Florida) laws that directly or indirectly relate to agriculture. Because these laws are subject to constant revision, portions of the handbook could become outdated at any time. The reader should use it as a means to determine areas in which to seek more information and as a brief directory of agencies that can help answer more specific questions. Accessibility Summary: In accordance with Title II regulations this content meets all points of exemption as Archived web content and/or Preexisting conventional electronic documents.

  Publisher

• 2025 Handbook of Florida Water Regulation: Florida Springs and Aquifer Protection Act

  DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) · 2025-08-01

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  This handbook is designed to provide a summary of the principal federal and state (Florida) laws that directly or indirectly relate to agriculture. Because these laws are subject to constant revision, portions of the handbook could become outdated at any time. The reader should use it as a means to determine areas in which to seek more information and as a brief directory of agencies that can help answer more specific questions. Accessibility Summary: In accordance with Title II regulations this content meets all points of exemption as Archived web content and/or Preexisting conventional electronic documents.

  Publisher

• Payments for Ecosystem Services in Florida’s Landscape: Concepts and Principles

  EDIS · 2025-09-26

  articleOpen access

  Ecosystem services are the direct and indirect benefits that ecosystems provide humans. Florida is known for its diverse landscape, which includes valuable ecosystem services such as water storage, soil conservation, and biodiversity. A Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) policy approach aligns economic incentives with environmental goals, encouraging landowners to participate in conservation while potentially reducing cost of land use. This publication is the first article of a series titled Payments for Ecosystem Services in Florida’s Landscape. It introduces the concept of PES and is intended for Extension agents, government decision-makers, landowners, and researchers to help them understand the concepts and principles underlying PES programs and how they contribute to both previous and ongoing conservation efforts in Florida.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• 2025 Handbook of Florida Water Regulation: Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act [Title III of the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act]

  DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) · 2025-11-01

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  This handbook is designed to provide a summary of the principal federal and state (Florida) laws that directly or indirectly relate to agriculture. Because these laws are subject to constant revision, portions of the handbook could become outdated at any time. The reader should use it as a means to determine areas in which to seek more information and as a brief directory of agencies that can help answer more specific questions. Accessibility Summary: In accordance with Title II regulations this content meets all points of exemption as Archived web content and/or Preexisting conventional electronic documents.

  Publisher

• 2025 Handbook of Florida Water Regulation: Consumptive Use Permits

  DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) · 2025-04-01

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  This handbook is designed to provide a summary of the principal federal and state (Florida) laws that directly or indirectly relate to agriculture. Because these laws are subject to constant revision, portions of the handbook could become outdated at any time. The reader should use it as a means to determine areas in which to seek more information and as a brief directory of agencies that can help answer more specific questions. Accessibility Summary: In accordance with Title II regulations this content meets all points of exemption as Archived web content and/or Preexisting conventional electronic documents.

  Publisher

• Urban Food Deserts: Improving the USDA Identification Methodology Through Inclusion of Neighborhood Racial Attributes

  Journal of Economics Race and Policy · 2023-10-14 · 1 citations

  article
  PublisherDOI

• Handbook of Florida Agricultural Laws: Crops and Products

  EDIS · 2022-06-01

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  This revised document is part of the Handbook of Florida Agricultural Laws, which was designed to provide an accurate, current, and authoritative summary of the principal Florida laws that directly or indirectly relate to agriculture. It provides a basic overview of the many rights and responsibilities that farmers and farm land owners have under Florida laws. Many readers may value this handbook because it informs them about these rights and responsibilities, and it provides them with good contacts for more detailed information. However, the reader should be aware that because the laws, administrative rulings, and court decisions on which this handbook is based are subject to constant revision, portions of this handbook could become outdated at any time. Many details of cited laws are also left out due to space limitations.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Handbook of Florida Agricultural Laws: General Agriculture-Related Laws

  EDIS · 2022 · 2 citations

  1st authorCorresponding
  • Political Science
  • Law
  • Political Science

  This revised document is part of the Handbook of Florida Agricultural Laws, which was designed to provide an accurate, current, and authoritative summary of the principal Florida laws that directly or indirectly relate to agriculture. It provides a basic overview of the many rights and responsibilities that farmers and farm land owners have under Florida laws. Many readers may value this handbook because it informs them about these rights and responsibilities, and it provides them with good contacts for more detailed information. However, the reader should be aware that because the laws, administrative rulings, and court decisions on which this handbook is based are subject to constant revision, portions of this handbook could become outdated at any time. Many details of cited laws are also left out due to space limitations. FE114/FE114: Handbook of Florida Agricultural Laws: General Agriculture-Related Laws (ufl.edu)

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Dulcy Miller

  University of Florida

  154 shared

• Laura Minton

  University of Florida

  141 shared

• Sarah Corbett

  Lakeland College

  132 shared

• Zachary Broome

  University of Florida

  118 shared

• Luke D'Isernia

  University of Florida

  116 shared

• Carol Fountain

  University of Florida

  91 shared

• Tatiana Borisova

  United States Department of Agriculture

  80 shared

• Fritz Roka

  Florida Gulf Coast University

  73 shared

Awards & honors

• USDA's Distinguished Service Award
• USDA's Superior Service Award
• USDA's National Teaching Award
• 2005 University of Florida Distinguished Teaching Scholar