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Record diesel costs impacting fall management decisions

A pair of Midwestern farmers say diesel prices are putting a damper on harvest season.

Central Illinois farmer Ken Franklin, who grows corn and soybeans in Christian County, tells Brownfield, “Basically, harvesting cost of fuel is double what it was last year.”  He says, “It’s more than $1000 a day for just the combine, and then you add the grain cart in there, it’s a significant cost, but you know you gotta get the crop out.”

AUDIO: Ken Franklin – Illinois farmer

Southeastern Wisconsin farmer Casey Kelleher, who grows corn and soybeans in Jefferson County, says it’ll likely impact management decisions.

“Yeah, it’s scary where it’s at right now.”  He says, “In this area, there’s going to be a lot less tillage going on this fall.”

He says talk across the countryside is confusion about how diesel costs have reached record highs.

“And there’s no way that diesel or gas should be where it’s at.”  He says, “$100 a barrel is not too bad, but I think our refineries are making a whole lot of money on us. We’ve been up to $120 – $150 before and we haven’t seen these prices.”

According to AAA, the national average price for a gallon of diesel is $6.52, well above the $3.68 at the same time last year.

AUDIO: Casey Kelleher – Wisconsin farmer