NCGA's tours Iowa farm for Field Notes feature

The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) met Oct. 16 with Iowa farmer April Hemmes, who has 30 acres of corn left to harvest and is seeing the best yields she has ever seen.

Hemmes also has an additional 160 acres of soybeans to harvest.

“I have been farming for 30 years, and these are the best yields that I have ever seen on my farm,” Hemmes said. “The weather cooperated with us, and we didn’t get the big rains that hit the southern parts of the state. In my fields, I have seen yields from 200 to 220 bushels per acre. At the coffee shop, I haven’t heard talk of yields much below 200 from my neighbors.”

The National Corn Growers Association has presented a series called Field Notes, a behind-the-scenes look at the life of the American farm and the families who run them. The NCGA looks for families from all over the country who run unique farms, share a love for United States agriculture and the basic values that support life in farming communities.

The NCGA will return to Hemmes’ farm this month to check on the soybean harvest.