Ruggable
13.07.2024 - 04:17 / modernfarmer.com
Fueling up a tractor is getting a lot more expensive. “Our last fill, it was about $10,000 or $11,000 just to top them off, where normally it would be $3,000 or $4,000,” says third-generation farmer Bradley McKay. “A couple years ago, we were paying $2 per gallon for fuel, and now it’s over $5.”
In Page, North Dakota, McKay grows midwest staples of corn and soybeans. For him, the cost of fuel is about so much more than just topping off the tanks for his tractors and machinery. It has ripple effects to every corner of his farm—and even the farm-adjacent businesses. “When I call my chemical retailer, I might need a jug or two of chemicals to finish what I’m doing. And a couple of jugs of chemicals are not going to cover their fuel costs [to get it to me]. So, they’re asking ‘is there something else you might need?’ to make it worth their time,” says McKay.
The farmer has also changed his usual routines, hauling his corn to a market that pays less for the crop but is a closer drive. “Usually, we go to an ethanol plant 50 miles away. Right now, I’m hauling to a [grain] elevator that’s closer, that’s 15 miles away, but I’m taking a little bit less for my corn,” he says. “But when I figure it out, I’m still better off than burning $5.50 diesel.”
Across the country, the average cost for diesel fuel, on which most farm equipment runs, is about $5.70 per gallon. On the coasts, it’s averaging around $6 a gallon, with prices a little lower through the midwest. That means that farmers like McKay have had to adjust aspects of their business to compensate. A late spring in North Dakota means that McKay finished up planting in mid-June and held back on tilling the fields as much as he might otherwise, conscious of the $1,500 price
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