Farmers Face Diesel Price Surge Amid Peak Harvest Season
As harvest season approaches, farmers in the US are facing another energy-related challenge on top of high diesel prices. The Iran conflict has caused a significant increase in fertilizer costs that began months ago.
Fuel is a major input cost for farmers, who use it for combines, field preparation, crop transportation, irrigation, and other purposes. Due to the throttled Strait of Hormuz and Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries, the diesel market is tight and expensive.
According to Jed Bower, an Ohio corn and soybean farmer, 'At the end of the day, unfortunately, the high prices have hit both in the spring during planting, and then they're going to hit again in the fall during harvest.'
The peak harvesting season for corn and soybeans, the country's two largest farm commodities, starts next month. This will further strain farmers' already tight margins.
John Newton, VP of public policy and economic analysis at the American Farm Bureau Federation, explained that 'farmers buy retail and sell wholesale.'