Member spotlight: Charlie and Wilda Albrecht

August 19, 2021 | Joseph Hopper

As the Iowa State Fair returned this summer, Iowa Soybean Association Farmer Member Charlie Albrecht and his wife Wilda were manning the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship booth representing the Iowa Soybean Association and greeting fairgoers inside the Ag Building with a smile. The two are as active in the world of Iowa agriculture as ever.

Charlie Albrecht says being a farmer is his calling. After serving in the military, he worked at a factory where he had an epiphany, leading to his lifelong career.

“I saw the smoke at the end of the hall and I asked, ‘is this what I’m going to do the rest of my life?’” Charlie says.

Like his father, who was a farmer, he had a talent for working on the farm. It was on the farm where the couple learned about the Iowa Soybean Association.

“We had moved to a larger farm and somebody came by and said ‘you need to be a member of the soybean association,’” Charlie says. “We joined the soybean association and maybe there were some years we weren’t as active but in the last 25 to 30 years we have really been active learning and promoting.”

The Bremer County farmer says some farmers might ask why he continues to be active and an advocate in the world of agriculture. His answer is entrenched in his faith. It’s inspired by Jesus’ Parable of the Talents.

“God gave you talents,” Charlie says. “If you can raise more corn and beans on this acre of ground the good lord gave you, you darn well better be doing that. If you don’t have the knowledge or know-how to get it done, we have an organization that does research and helps educate, has helped to increase yields which is better for all Iowans and better for the hungry people of the world.”

 

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