KEARNEY, Mo. – University of Missouri Extension horticulture specialist Todd Higgins was recently named Conservationist of the Year by the Show-Me chapter of the Soil and Water Conservation Society.

“Conserving our soil resources must be our primary goal,” Higgins said upon receiving the award at Missouri Department of Natural Resources Conference at the Margaritaville Lake Resort, Lake of the Ozarks. “Without healthy fertile soils, our food resources are at risk and our forests are less productive, which also affects wildlife and fisheries.”

Missouri chapters of the American Fisheries Society, Wildlife Society, Society of American Foresters and Soil and Water Conservation Society sponsor the conference with support from state and federal agencies.

Higgins served as president SWCS’s Show-Me chapter from 2018 to 2019 and vice president from 2016 to 2018. He currently serves as board secretary on the Clay, Platte, Daviess and Caldwell Soil and Water Conservation Districts. He advocates cover crop use to reduce soil erosion and promote soil health.

Higgins has served as the MU Extension field horticulturist for Clay, Clinton, Buchanan, Platte, Caldwell and Daviess counties since 2023. Before that he was an associate professor at Lincoln University of Missouri and held adjunct faculty positions with Park University, Columbia College, Drury University and University of Leicester in England.

For almost 24 years, Higgins served on active duty in the U.S. Army and Missouri National Guard. He says the highlights of his military career were commanding the 110th Engineer Battalion of the Missouri Army Guard and serving as the command engineer for the Combined Security Transition Command in Afghanistan.

He also served as research and development coordinator at the U.S. Army Waterways Experiment Station in Vicksburg, Mississippi, and was an instructor and writer for the U.S. Army Engineer School at Fort Leonard Wood.

Higgins is a 45-year member of the American Society of Agronomy. He earned his doctorate in agronomy from the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville.

As an MU Extension field specialist in horticulture, Higgins serves Clay, Clinton, Buchanan, Platte, Caldwell and Daviess counties.