Meet the Director: Dave Struthers

March 31, 2025

What crops and livestock do you grow and raise on the farm?

We raise soybeans, corn, alfalfa and I have a 30-head cow-calf herd. I also buy feeder pigs, raising them to market weight. We market about 5,500 pigs per year.

What makes your farm unique?

The way we raise hogs. We only have 600 spaces in confinement barns with pits underneath them. We have 2,600 spaces in deep-bedded hoop-barns, so most of our livestock deal with natural ventilation and the sunshine. We are a multi-generation family farm. My brother and nephew are operating with me; my parents still own the bulk of the farm.

What does success mean to you on the farm?

Success on the farm means to be profitable enough to stay in business. It’s also about enjoying what you do, being respected among your neighbors and your peers. Success is also having a well-kept operation, taking pride in the appearance of the farm and in animal husbandry.

How do you envision production agriculture 50 years from now?

I’m afraid row crop agriculture will be even fewer farmers, larger operations with a lot more technology and autonomous operating equipment. There still may be some niche producers raising a specialty grain or specialty livestock, but livestock operations are probably going to be more consolidated and vertically integrated. This is just how I envision it; I don’t want it to be this way.

It’s always been difficult to get into farming but more so lately. Unless people start breaking large tracts of land into smaller tracts, the beginning farmers and even established farmers won’t be able to acquire that property even though it may be across the road.

What do you see as the largest hurdle for homegrown soybeans in the future? Largest opportunity?

The Brazilians and to a lesser extent the Argentinians are formidable competitors. They’ve taken the knowledge and technologies we’ve developed and utilized in the U.S. and are utilizing it there. They have lower costs in land and labor to really be tough competition. I think the opportunity is renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel. There are other new uses for soy; we have the technology to use soybean oil-based tires and asphalt, but it competes against a petroleum product. When a petroleum-based product is reasonably priced it’s tough to use the renewable alternative if it’s more expensive. People look at the bottom line, and if it’s not competitive cost-wise it’s tough to get those things going.

What’s something people usually don’t know about you?

I used to be shy and not like to speak in public. When I was in junior high, I would get nervous. Since then, I’ve spoken in front of many large groups, was president of the Iowa Pork Producers Association, and held various leadership roles with Farm Bureau and now with Iowa Soybean Association. I’m very comfortable speaking and enjoy talking to people about farming and agriculture. There are multiple ways to manage a farm, but we all do it for the same reasons, because we care about it and we enjoy what we do.

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