Fuel costs

Farm and Ranch May 2, 2011 American Farm Bureau Federation economist Matt Erickson says President Obama’s urgent request last week to Congress to end tax breaks for oil and gas companies shows just how big the problem of fuel prices has gotten. Erickson says for farmers the cost of fuel is huge. For example, using a three-dollar 76-cent price for diesel;

Erickson: “Let’s say you have a 270 gallon tractor and so with $3.76 diesel price, every time you fill up that tractor, that is over a thousand dollars.”

Erickson compares the cost of filling that tank today to back in 2009.

Erickson: “The 2009 average was $588. In 2010 it was $726. Compare that to 2011 that is a 40% increase. So it is definitely becoming a burden to farmers and ranchers throughout the United States.”

Even for growers trying to save fuel with no-till.

Erickson: “You still have to run your semi. You still have to run your tractor. You still have to run the combine during harvest and in most cases a lot of farmers have a couple of trucks running during planting or during harvest season.”

Erickson says the country is only now starting to hit the peak driving season. He says a broad concern is that rising energy prices and resulting higher food costs could actually dampen demand for meat and other foods, helping to drive crop prices back down.

I’m Bob Hoff and that’s the Northwest Farm and Ranch Report on Northwest Aginfo Net.

?

?