Back in April 2020, Brian Duncan was not feeling optimistic.

“The COVID curveball, if you want to call it that, was really hard on agriculture,” said Duncan, who is a hog, soybean and corn farmer, as well as vice president of the Illinois Farm Bureau. “We saw demand destruction occur all over the place, from usage of biofuels, to consumption of animal proteins at restaurants, and other countries around the world having economic difficulties, which led to a slowdown in exports.”

But now Duncan is feeling more optimistic, partially because the outlook for the pandemic is improving.

“We see some hope that positivity rates continue to decline,” Duncan said. “I’m hoping that people are waiting for the opportunity to rush out to restaurants and take those trips that maybe they weren’t able to take last year.”

“Marketplace” host Kai Ryssdal spoke to Duncan about the farming economy in Illinois.

To hear the full interview, click the audio player above.