The Truesdell family is engaging in row crop farming because it is a rewarding career of working with the soil, raising crops, and experiencing the harvests of our hard work. The family farm allows all members of the family to be involved in some way and helps to instill the value of hard work to the younger generations.

Truesdell Family Farm will continue to operate respectfully and with honesty and integrity. We will strive to associate with those who also demonstrate these core beliefs. We consider relationships with our family, employees, landowners, and business partners to be very important and the core of our success. We will work to grow a business that is stable, sustainable, and able to be shared with future generations.

Landowners are our top priority and we believe it is a privilege to farm and care for their land. We will strive to maintain a mutually beneficial relationship that provides a fair return for their assets and fosters pride in their association with Truesdell Family Farm. Truesdell Family Farm’s profitability goals are structured around ensuring a fair return on the assets of our landowners, maintaining adequate working capital, and a high level of operating efficiency.

We believe that raising a family in a farming environment teaches work ethic, accomplishment, pride, respect, and character qualities that are vital but often lacking in today’s society. Our goal is to enjoy a farming career and retire with the feeling that the next generation has the same opportunities in the exciting business of farming.

As our farm grows we will maintain the well-kept appearance of the land we farm and our machinery, reflecting our attention to detail as well as our commitment to be environmentally conservative.

The first generation of farmer’s in the Truesdell Family started with Oliver and Florence Truesdell. Oliver was a native of Graettinger Iowa and worked for farmers around the area. In the early 1940’s a veterinarian in Estherville Iowa bought a farm in Manyaska Township, and offered Oliver and Florence the opportunity to share rent the quarter. Together they raised eight children, crops and livestock on that quarter section. In the 1960’s two of his sons, Bob and Bill, took over the farming and slowly expanded by working off farm jobs and custom farming. By the 1970’s, they were able to buy and rent enough land to quit their off farm jobs and dedicate their careers to farming while supporting two families. The operation consisted mainly of crop farming until the late 1990’s when they decided to diversify into the custom livestock feeding business. Together the brothers built a successful operation from the ground up that was capable of allowing another Truesdell generation to join.

In 2003, Bill and Mary Kaye’s son Ben graduated from South Dakota State University with a bachelor’s degree in General Agriculture. Ben began working for Bill and Bob, and expanded the custom livestock feeding business to get started. In 2005, Bob retired from farming, allowing Ben and his wife Leslie to take his place in the partnership. For the next seven years Bill, Mary Kaye, Ben and Leslie worked to grow the farm’s land base and manure application division enough to make room for Ben’s younger brother, Andy, to join the farm.

In 2008, Andy and his wife Stephanie joined the operation. Andy also began by working for Bill and Ben, and managing the manure application division. Soon he began working his way into the partnership as the farm expanded and by purchasing Bill’s share of the custom livestock feeding business in 2010 and purchased Ben’s livestock facilities in 2012.

Today, Truesdell Family Farm continues to progress and grow and still consists of three families working together along with a full-time employee and several key part-time and seasonal employees.