Howard Finnell

Henry Howard Finnell (October 27, 1894 – September 7, 1960) was an agronomist and erosion specialist who pioneered methods to combat soil erosion during the Dust Bowl that afflicted North America in the 1930s.

He was born in Oakley, Hinds County, Mississippi, the son of Jesse and Jerusha Finnell. When he was a child, his family moved to Indian Territory. He graduated from Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical College (OAMC) in 1917 with a B.Sc.

The next year, he was sent to head the Region Six office of the Soil Conservation Service (the successor of the Soil Erosion Service) in either Amarillo or Dalhart, Texas. He was now responsible for conservation efforts for the entire Dust Bowl. His ideas were put to the test and proved extremely successful. By May 1936, nearly 40,000 farmers had adopted his methods, "and 5.5 million acres were under new terraced and contour-listed cultivation. At the end of 1937, despite the persistent dust storms, the amount of dangerously eroded land had been reduced by more than half." He remained regional director until 1942.

Finnell continued to study wind erosion and land use for the government until his retirement in 1959. He died the following year at his home in California.