From Seattletimes · · 1m 20s
Record diesel prices land right at harvest
Diesel hit $6.05 a gallon just as corn and soybean farmers fired up their combines.
In brief
Diesel hit $6.05 a gallon just as corn and soybean farmers fired up their combines. Fuel is now one of the biggest line items in a harvest, and farmers who are already cash strapped have to cut somewhere else to pay for it. Originally reported by Seattletimes.
Record diesel, worst timing
Diesel hit an all-time US high just as farmers needed it to run combines and tractors through the soybean and corn harvest.
Six dollars a gallon
The national average hit $5.85 on Sept. 4, a first, then climbed to $6.05 by Friday, according to AAA. The six-month war with Iran scrambled global fuel flows.
It is not just harvesting
Fuel costs follow the grain the whole way, from field to farm and farm to buyer. Every mile of hauling gets more expensive.
“It's the hauling of everything, moving the grain or the silage from the field to the farm and then from the farm to wherever they're selling it.”
200 gallons a day
Jason Kurtz, a Missouri corn and soybean farmer, pays double for diesel this year. His combine burns 200 gallons a day and he expects 30 days of running it.
“We have to harvest. We have to run the machines. We have to use the diesel, so it cuts into our bottom line.”
Up 60% since February
Before the US and Israel went to war with Iran in late February, diesel averaged about $3.76. Crude spiked as tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz was disrupted.
Cash strapped farms cut first
Fertilizer, seed and equipment already cost more this year. Kurtz is delaying some work and betting prices drop.
“That's one good thing about farming. Tomorrow will be different.”
The main idea
Fuel is now one of the biggest line items in a harvest, and farmers who are already cash strapped have to cut somewhere else to pay for it.
