How ‘ridiculous’ gas and diesel prices are affecting NC farmers
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- NC farmers faced higher diesel costs after the U.S.-Israel attack on Iran.
- NC diesel prices rose about 70 cents per gallon within a week after the attack.
- Farms also reported higher costs for fertilizers and electricity.
North Carolina drivers have faced higher gas prices for months. Those who need diesel have had to deal with even greater costs.
Farmers who sell produce at the State Farmers Market in Raleigh are among those paying more for fuel since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran in late February.
As of Monday, April 27, the average price of gas in North Caroling was $3.88 per gallon. Diesel was even higher, at $5.55 per gallon, according to AAA.
The recent increase in fuel costs has come during spring, a season when gas prices are usually higher, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Farmers need diesel to power tractors and other machines used in the farming process, said Marshall Lee, co-owner of Lee’s Produce in Dunn. He’s spent $500 just to fill up one tractor.
“The fuel price is ridiculous when it comes to trying to farm with them,” Lee told The News & Observer in a phone interview.
But growing and harvesting the crops is only part of the process. The farmers also have to pay to transport their fruits and vegetables to the market.
Cassidy Johnson, who sells foods including strawberries, corn, cucumber, watermelon and pumpkins for Penny’s Produce at the farmers market, said the gas-powered van that makes the 30-minute trip from the Willow Spring farm to Raleigh has to be filled up about once a week.
Costs of farming equipment more expensive
But farmers have had to pay more for products other than gas and diesel. Some fertilizers are more expensive, Lee said, and so are plastics that are used to grow crops.
Vivian Juarez, who works for Roberts Family Farms, based in Willow Spring, said the farm is spending more money to heat greenhouses, where crops such as cucumber and tomatoes are grown.
As a result of cost increases, Roberts Family Farms has raised prices of cucumbers and tomatoes, Juarez said.
But local farms are limited in how much they can increase costs, Johnson said, because they don’t want to lose customers.
How much have gas prices increased?
In North Carolina, the cost of regular unleaded gas and diesel has generally been declining since early 2022.
That trend reversed after the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran in late February. Prices of both gas and diesel have increased, but diesel prices have risen faster.
Within a week after the attack, North Carolina drivers were paying, on average, about 36 cents more per gallon for gas, and about 70 cents per gallon on diesel, The N&O previously reported.
The changes reflect a rise in oil prices, as Iran has limited transport through the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway through which about 20% of the world’s oil supply is carried.
