Hopes for a positive crop

As Cody Snow, 29, works his field on the outskirts of Kasson, he notes the positive.
“We have good moisture for planting,” he said. “It is making for good germination.”
Snow has a concern shared by most farmers, though. This field corn farmer is concerned about the future moisture.
“I’m hoping for a good season,” he said. “But we are hearing it is supposed to be a hot, dry summer. That would create some problems.”
Jeff Tank, 33, of Dodge Center, who works for Dan Welsh, was out Saturday late in the day preparing the field for seeding. 
“There is a lot to be done,” he said. “We want to get seeding done.”
Tank grows corn and soybeans.
The 2015 season saw a bumper crop for most Minnesota farmers, but the commodity prices are terrible. The income for many farmers continued to decline last year, because it reached the lowest point in inflation-adjusted dollars in 20 years.
“We still had some good prices from 2015,” Tank said. “We did some ordering ahead of time which helped us.”
“This year could be tight margins.”
Nineteen year-old O’Rion Hardwick works with Snow and would like to get into farming on his own, if possible.
“I’d like farming,” he said. “I’ll have to wait and see if I can get some land.”