Farmers across the Midwest share one major concern as harvest gets underway. Diesel prices.
The price of diesel is hitting record highs just when many U.S. farmers need it to power combines, tractors and other equipment to harvest two of the nation’s largest commodities: soybeans and corn.
The spike adds to an already tough year for these farmers, who also faced higher costs for fertilizer, seeds and equipment.
According to AAA, the national average price of diesel reached $6.44 per gallon on Friday – up from $3.70 per gallon this time last year.
Using the nearby corn price for the same period, it now takes 1.18 bushels of corn to buy a gallon of farm diesel, another record high. Current diesel prices are nearly double a year ago, while corn prices are slightly lower, worsening the diesel-to-corn exchange rate. One year ago, it took exactly half as much: 0.59 bushels of corn per gallon. Over the past 10 years, the average has been 0.62 bushels per gallon, well below what farmers are paying today.
