Suzanne Shirbroun leads the association into its 60th year. BY BETHANY BARATTA
I
owa Soybean Association (ISA) President Suzanne Shirbroun is acutely aware of the challenges that persist for Iowa soybean farmers. A sixth generation farmer, Shirbroun is ushering in the seventh generation — her son Andrey — on her family’s farm near Farmersburg. But she’s also optimistic about leading the state’s 22-member volunteer board of directors tasked with allocating priorities and funding on behalf of soybean farmers. And she doesn’t take that responsibility lightly. “When I have to make a decision on the board, I step back and ask, ‘How is this going to help the Iowa soybean farmer? Am I going to be proud to go back to farmers and say this is what the Iowa Soybean Association is doing?’ That’s my litmus test.”
Educating audiences
Shirbroun on her farm near Farmersburg.
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Shirbroun says one of her top priorities as ISA president is to help consumers and policymakers understand what farmers are doing on their farm, and how policy shapes those decisions. As an Iowa Front 40 champion, Shirbroun uses her platform to talk about the family’s conservation efforts. After watching her grandfather begin terracing, Shirbroun knew conservation would be important in
