Bill Latham, Latham Seeds, Inc.

Bill Latham, born in 1941, was raised on a grain and livestock farm in north central Iowa. He is a 1963 graduate of Iowa State University with a degree in agronomy, where he was a member of Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity and initiated into Alpha Zeta agricultural honor society. For several years after college, he served as a sales representative and agronomist for Monsanto Company with territories in Louisiana and eastern Nebraska.

After a stint in the U.S. Marin Corp Reserve, Bill came home to the family seed business in 1966 where he became its president. Founded by his father, Willard, in 1947, Latham Seed Company was owned and managed by Bill and his brother Don. Another brother and owner, Tom, left the company to serve as U.S. Congressman in 1994.

Bill managed the soybean variety development program, as well as overall management. The company grew to become one of the most successful soybean seed producers and marketers in the upper soybean belt, with a dealer organization in seven North Central states.

Bill and his wife Linda have two sons, John, and Christopher. Both, along with John’s wife Shannon, are now owners of Latham Hi-Tech Seeds. John and Shannon have two children, Elizabeth, and Ian. Chris and Ann also have three children, Will, Courtney and Morgan.

Bill was very active in community and professional activities. He is past president of the CAL Community School Board. Bill and Linda have served as co-chairs of the “Extra Edge for Excellence” Capital Campaign for the Educational Foundation of CAL Schools. He has served as president of his church, Sunday School Superintendent, church youth leader, and call committee chairperson. Bill has been president of the local community club and a director of the Franklin County Development Association. He is member of the Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity at Iowa State and was recipient of its 50-year service award.

Professionally, Bill has served as president of the Independent Seed Association and has served two nine-year terms on its board of directors.

Bill served as Regional Vice President and Soybean Division chairperson of the American Seed Trade Association and became ASTA’s national president in 1998. He has also served on the board of directors of the American Seed Research Foundation and represented ASTA on the advisory committee of the National Soybean Research Laboratory.

Bill has served as chairman of Friends of Agriculture at Iowa State University and as a member of the Dean of Agriculture’s Advisory Committee. Bill is a past president of the Iowa Seed Association, past vice-president of the Iowa Crop Improvement Association, and past chairperson of the Iowa Committee for Agricultural Development, as well as serving on many committees within these organization. He was also a member of the agricultural advisory committee of North Iowa Area Community College.

Bill was the 1999 recipient of the Floyd Andre Award, given annually by the Iowa State University College of Agriculture. Bill and Linda are members of Order of the Knoll at Iowa State University. In 1992, Bill was the recipient of the Iowa State University Service Key Award by the ISU Club of Franklin County.

In 2008 Bill was named an Honorary Lifetime Member of the American Seed Trade Association. He is also an honorary member of the Iowa Seed Association. In 2010 he was recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Independent Professional Seed Association.