Diesel’s 100% Surge and Scarcity Deny Farmers Their ‘Lifeblood’
Some spend $1,000 to fuel a tractor, more than double a year ago
A worker sweeps after unloading corn from a grain truck in Princeton, Illinois.
Photographer: Daniel Acker/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Farmers from Iowa to Ukraine are grappling with surging diesel prices and an unsteady supply, forcing them to spend unprecedented sums on fuel in a chaotic market and raising concerns about the autumn harvest.
In the US, where corn and soybean producers are rushing to sow after rains and cold temperatures forced delays, filling a tractor tank daily now costs some farmers $1,000, twice what it was a year ago. And the most intensive part of the farming season is still ahead.