Statewide Iowa — With gas prices rising, farmers are feeling the impact of inflation, as higher costs for fuel and fertilizer are shrinking profit margins for Iowa growers.
Chad Hart, an agriculture economics professor at Iowa State University, says while commodity prices are good, rising fuel prices can significantly increase production expenses.
Hart says farmers also face challenges with price volatility, as fluctuating prices are making it harder to know when to buy and sell. Kelly Garrett, a farmer from Denison, says his planter tractors use at least 100 gallons of diesel fuel every day.
Garrett says higher fuel prices means he’s also paying more for shipping. In the past year, he says he’s seen his shipping costs double. Triple-A Iowa says the statewide average for gas is $3.91 a gallon. That’s 11-cents below the all-time Iowa high of $4.02 set in July of 2008. The current national average is a record $4.32 a gallon.
