Dave Bender reflects on industry changes

Dave Stender has been an Extension swine specialist with Iowa State University since 1989, serving northwest Iowa. The Iowa native recently retired and began serving as a professor of animal science at Buena Vista University in Storm Lake, Iowa.

Stender’s specialization while at ISU included swine management, understanding ventilation principles, production and financial records, niche production systems and cost structure, nutrition, genetics, computers and decision analysis for swine production.

Stender earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from ISU.

Q: Please tell us about your background. Did you grow up on a farm?

STENDER: I grew up on a livestock farm in Crawford County — 100 beef cows and 60 farrow-to-finish sows. I really enjoyed the farm and that’s what I wanted to do for a living. Unfortunately, the farm crisis of the ’80s made that dream unattainable.

A: What was the Iowa hog industry like when you started with Iowa State? Is it even recognizable today?

STENDER: I started with Iowa State during the farm crisis, and at the time the swine industry was the bright spot of agriculture. Most producers referred to them as the mortgage lifter. If you wanted to work hard there was opportunity. The swine herd was owned by small, sole-proprietor farmers. Very few had an employee and never more than a couple hired workers. Most of the issues of today’s agriculture were at their infancy.

Pork Quality Assurance was a new program for food safety, and there were no significant environmental laws. The producers then had to be informed to make educated decisions regarding nutrition, genetics, breeding, ventilation, facility design, reproduction, finance and technology adoption. There were single-site farrow-to-finish continuous flow operations that found a way to be viable. It was physically difficult work, but rewarding.