Meet Bill Couser: An Iowa Farmer Focused on Faith, Family, and the Future

Iowa farmer Bill Couser reflects on agricultural innovation, family farming, and the future of modern agriculture.

Bill Couser has been farming in Story County, Iowa for over 50 years. He farms alongside his family, raising corn and soybeans, supporting seed production, feeding cattle, keeping honeybees, and staying deeply involved in the ethanol industry. As Bill often says, his life’s work comes down to “corn, cattle, and kids.”

Agricultural advancements 

In just one lifetime, agriculture has transformed in ways few outside the farm gate truly understand. For Bill Couser, that transformation isn’t something he’s read about—it’s something he’s lived.

“I had the privilege of planting corn with a team of horses,” Couser says. “And I just stepped out of a 36-row corn planter that drove itself—in a matter of 50 years.”

That single reflection captures the extraordinary pace of change in American agriculture. But for Couser, farming has never been just about equipment or efficiency. At its core, it’s about people, purpose, and passing something meaningful on to the next generation.

“The greatest thing about farming is faith and family,” he explains.

Farmers need more certainty 

Couser began farming five decades ago, when the biggest uncertainty came from the sky. Weather dictated everything—from planting schedules to harvest outcomes. And while weather remains a challenge, Couser says the pressures facing today’s farmers look very different.

“Starting out 50 years ago, the biggest challenge we always thought was weather, but you can’t control it,” Couser reflects. “When I look at today and what my sons and my neighbors’ sons are having to go through, it’s policy.”

The impact of modern crop protection tools 

Those policy pressures affect real decisions farmers make every day—what to plant, how to manage weeds, how to protect yields, and whether the farm will remain viable for the next generation.

That’s why Couser is so passionate about protecting access to proven crop protection tools. 

“When I look at the importance of the different chemical programs that we have today, and when they introduced glyphosate many years ago, we didn’t realize that a product like that could have such a change in agriculture,” Couser says. “The safety of the products that have been developed are amazing … [and] glyphosate has probably been one of the greatest things that has happened to the American farmer—and around the world.”

For farmers like Bill, the value of glyphosate isn’t theoretical. It shows up in yields, costs, conservation practices, and long-term sustainability.

“It’s actually helped increase our yields,” Couser says. “It’s brought down the expenses in our crops. And today, I would hate to think what it would be like if we didn’t have a glyphosate product to be able to use in our farming toolbox.”

That toolbox matters, not just for today’s operations, but for the future Couser hopes to preserve for his family and community.

Modern Ag Alliance stands with Bill 

When thinking about his sons, Couser asks, “How do we make sure that we can protect his way of living, his way of farming and make sure that he can continue to do what he loves to do?”

That question is at the heart of Couser’s story, and it’s why he chose to share it. His experience is a powerful reminder that modern agriculture is built on decades of innovation, guided by science, and sustained by farmers who care deeply about their land, their families, and the people they feed.

The Modern Ag Alliance exists to elevate voices like Bill’s—farmers who have spent a lifetime adapting, investing, and planning for the future—and to help ensure policymakers understand what’s truly at stake for family farms, rural communities, and the food and fuel supply Americans rely on.

👉 See more of Bill’s story on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/DTToGs1ib0Q/?hl=en