Times may be tough for Iowa farmers, but planting was “gorgeous”

Iowa farmers are wrapping up the 2020 planting season. Marketplace host Kai Ryssdal called corn and soybean farmer April Hemmes to see how it went. Before the pandemic hit, he’d been planning to visit her farm this time of year.

“You would have seen the most beautiful planting conditions I have seen for years,” Hemmes said. “It was just gorgeous.”

Even though planting went smoothly, Hemmes is still worried about where prices will be once she gets her crops out of the ground.

“I’m sitting here putting a crop in the ground that’s probably costing me $3.20 for corn, and my price right now is $3.01,” she said.

Click the audio player above to hear the interview.