Background
He was born in Faaberg as a son of educator Matias Skard (1846–1927) and his second wife Nilsine Kristiane Myhre (1860–1891). He was a nephew of Johannes Skar, Christopher Bruun and Per Bø and a half-brother of Olav Skard (a son of Matias"s from his first marriage) and Bjarne, Eiliv and Sigmund Skard (whom Matias had by his third wife).
Career
Torfinn Skard was an apprentice in horticulture at three different schools between 1907 and 1911, studied at two different folk high schools and studied at the Norwegian College of Agriculture from 1917 to 1919. He worked at Telemark School of Agriculture and Domestic Sciences from 1919 to 1958. He also led Telemark Agricultural Library from 1936 to 1958.
He wrote several historical books about Norwegian horticulture, as well as the textbook Dyrking av grønnsaker, frukt og bær (1937).
His main work was Hagebruk og gartneri i Norge (1963). His own book collection was donated to the Norwegian College of Agriculture.
He died in June 1970 in Skien.