Research Leader, Research Soil Scientist
USDA-ARS Northwest Agroecosystem Research Unit
Pullman, WA
E-mail: david.huggins@usda.gov
Background
Dave earned his B.S. and M.S. degrees in forestry at the S.U.N.Y. College of Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse, NY. His first natural resource job was with the USDA Soil Conservation Service in Moscow, ID back in 1981. Since then he has spent the majority of his career working on sustainable agricultural issues in the Palouse region. Dave received his Ph.D. at WSU under Dr. Bill Pan conducting research on no-tillage cropping systems and N use efficiency. Subsequently, he became an Assistant Professor at the University of Minnesota before returning to the Palouse in 1997 as a USDA-ARS Research Soil Scientist, and in 2020, became the Research Leader of the Northwest Sustainable Agroecosystems Research Unit in Pullman, WA. Dr. Huggins had a leadership role in establishing the WSU Cook Agronomy Farm in 1998 as a new cropping systems research farm, and in its selection as one of ten original USDA Long-Term Agroecosystem Research (LTAR) national sites. He currently serves on the national LTAR leadership team, is the current scientific lead for the Cook Agronomy Farm LTAR site, and is also the co-Director of the Northwest Climate Hub. Dr. Huggins has been a P.I. or co-P.I. on 47 competitive grants totaling $37 million and has over 200 publications. He has served as Chair of the Soil and Water Management and Conservation Division of the Soil Science Society of America and as ex-officio board member of the Pacific Northwest Direct Seed Association. He is, of course, best known for his Ag. related poetry and award winning Harmonicat Graminae Grammy for “The AEZ Blues”.