From ABC News · ABC News · · 2m
Diesel crisis squeezes Oklahoma rancher
Record fuel prices are pushing a third-generation cattle rancher toward the breaking point as harvest season arrives.
In brief
Record fuel prices are pushing a third-generation cattle rancher toward the breaking point as harvest season arrives. Scott Belden, an Oklahoma rancher, says soaring diesel prices driven by the Iran war are costing him one thousand to fourteen hundred dollars more per week and threatening his business. Originally…
Harvest season brings crisis
Scott Belden, a fifty-five-year-old third-generation rancher in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, is in the middle of harvest and deeply anxious about soaring diesel costs.
“It's probably the most stressful time in my life.”
War drives fuel prices up
Oil prices have spiked since the Iran war began in February. The average diesel price was six dollars and thirty-two cents per gallon on Thursday, up more than sixty-five percent.
Belden's daily fuel burn
During harvest, Belden burns ninety to one hundred gallons of diesel a day. All his vehicles and equipment run on diesel, costing him one thousand to fourteen hundred dollars more per week.
“It don't take no mathematician to figure out that it's costing me $1,000 to $1,400 more a week.”
Custom hay work now unprofitable
Belden's ranch includes cattle and custom harvesting for hay. He says the hay work is absolutely unprofitable with current fuel costs, yet he must buy diesel no matter the price.
“If I want to continue to operate, I'm going to buy diesel. No matter what the price is, I'm going to buy diesel.”
Trump voter sees political cost
Belden, a three-time Donald Trump voter, believes Republicans will pay a political price for fuel prices. He says the lifeblood of America is diesel fuel and everything consumed is delivered by diesel-powered vehicles.
“Middle of America is hurting.”
Trump shifts blame on prices
Trump has said higher fuel prices are worth preventing Iran from building nuclear weapons and will come down after the war ends. He recently shifted blame to Ukrainian attacks on Russian energy infrastructure.
Belden doubts quick relief
Trump made a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin to import three hundred thousand tons of diesel, but Belden expects prices to stay high. He says prices go up fast and come down slow.
“I believe everything goes up and comes down, but I've learned they go up real fast and come down real slow.”
Unsustainable without intervention
Belden warns he cannot absorb increased costs much longer. If diesel prices are not controlled soon, he says people will see a spike in consumption losses and the industry faces serious trouble.
“If they don't get control of the diesel fuel soon, we're really going to have a spike.”
The key point
Scott Belden, an Oklahoma rancher, says soaring diesel prices driven by the Iran war are costing him one thousand to fourteen hundred dollars more per week and threatening his business.
