Joni Ernst Absolutely Butchers Debate Question About Soybeans

Both candidates in Iowa’s senate race were asked in a debate Thursday night about prices for important Iowa crops but their answers were markedly different. Challenger Theresa Greenfield, who grew up on a farm, was asked for this week’s break-even price for a bushel of corn and correctly answered $3.68 to $3.69. When Republican incumbent Joni Ernst was asked the same for soybeans, she at first avoided the question. “You grew up on a farm. You should know this,” the moderator said. She then incorrectly said the price for corn was $5.50 (the price is $10.05 for soybeans, the moderator said) and claimed Greenfield didn’t answer the question either. When the moderator asked if she wanted to take “another crack” at the price of soybeans, she replied, “No, thank you,” then suggested maybe she wasn’t hearing the question correctly through her earpiece. Greenfield later tweeted the clip, saying: “A Senator from Iowa should know the price of soybeans.”