A look back at the Iowa Farm crisis of the 1980's; what happened, why it happened and what it means in the context of today's economic landscape.
Joe Hayneck, a former ISU engineering student, was the son of a Southern Iowa farm family and grew up during the farm crisis of the 1980s. He tells his story here with fragments of music from a musical - Farmer Song - that he and his mother wrote about the farm crisis. It was eventually performed at the New York fringe festival. Today, Joe works in Des Moines as an engineer but his home in Murray, Iowa, out of which he also runs a radio station – KSOI community radio.
Dr. Neil Harl, explains why the farm crisis happened and shares general insights on the economics of farming, as well as lending and interest rate management and the consequences of government policies. Harl is a Charles F. Curtiss Distinguished Professor in Agriculture at Iowa State University, Emeritus Professor of Economics, and Former Director of the Center for International Agricultural Finance. He is also a member of the Iowa Bar.
-
Online Information Sources:
- KSOI community radio
Originally broadcast 07/29/2015
Listen here now