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How an Iowa farmer pushes through less-than-average crop yields

Jul 27, 2023
It takes a "that's farming, buddy!" attitude — and crop insurance helps, too.
April Hemmes says farmers like her are "running scared" because over half of their soybeans are exported to China.
Ben Hethcoat/Marketplace

Retirement might not be in the cards for everyone

Feb 21, 2023
Shelley Rivers, a substitute teacher in Iowa City, Iowa, says she never even had the expectation that she'd fully retire.
Putting enough away to comfortably retire might be beyond many Americans' means.
(Photo by Graeme Robertson/Getty Images)

Iowa concert venue operator persisted through pandemic with help of SBA and other allies

Feb 16, 2022
Tobi Parks' xBk was open only six months before the pandemic hit. A federal grant helped it weather COVID.
"I never considered shutting it down," said Tobi Parks of xBk. "And, you know, I was always confident and had the support of .... the team of allies."
Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

As prices at the grocery store rise, farmers' costs are up too

Jan 20, 2022
Iowa corn and soybean farmer April Hemmes paid double for nitrogen this year. Consumers shouldn’t blame growers for inflation, she said.
April Hemmes says farmers like her are "running scared" because over half of their soybeans are exported to China.
Ben Hethcoat/Marketplace

Iowa farmers struggling after storms "flattened all of our crops"

Aug 27, 2020
Iowa corn and soybean farmer April Hemmes says that for many farmers, "it's like they lost their job and their house all in one day."
Damaged grain bins in Luther, Iowa, on Aug. 11. The state is also suffering a drought.
Daniel Acker/Getty Images

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

May 28, 2020
Marketplace host Kai Ryssdal checked in with Iowa corn and soybean farmer April Hemmes.
April Hemmes on her farm in 2019. This year, she had a record soybean harvest despite a drought earlier in the year.
Ben Hethcoat/Marketplace

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Tariff land: How farmers in Iowa are dealing with the trade war

Dec 12, 2019
China was the United States’ biggest customer of soybeans, but the trade war changed that.
Ben Hethcoat/Marketplace

Iowa farmers' trade war reality

Sep 24, 2018
China and Canada were once two of the state's best customers. Iowa's agriculture secretary has some ideas about what to do next.
Corn grows on a farm near Tipton, Iowa.
Scott Olson/Getty Images

In a U.S.-China trade dispute, Iowa farmers may be the bargaining chips

Apr 5, 2018
With the announced Chinese tariffs on U.S. exports, things are looking pretty tough if you’re a farmer, and more so if you’re a farmer in Iowa. Five of the state’s central agriculture products — soybeans, corn, ethanol, beef and pork — would be hit if the tariffs go into effect. And that’s a big deal […]