Rising fuel costs drying up farmers' resources

From staff and wire reports

Don Langston and his fellow farmers are feeling the pain at the gas pump just like everyone else, but for them it doesn't end there.

Besides higher prices for diesel to run tractors and machinery, farmers are hit with increased costs for fertilizer and utilities to irrigate fields.

"I wouldn't say that we were critically scared right now," said Langston, one of hundreds of cotton farmers in Texas, the nation's leading producer of the crop. "But that pushes our costs up considerably."

Nationwide, the increased energy costs means it will take $800 million more to bring in this year's crop than it did in 2003, according to projections from the American Farm Bureau. The 2003 tally was $2.6 billion higher than the cost to harvest the 2002 crop, again because of higher energy prices, said Troy Bredenkamp, who monitors fuel and energy for the Washington, D.C.-based organization.

"And it shows no sign of letting up," Bredenkamp said. "It's not good."

A gallon of diesel for farm use averages about $1.39 across the country, up from about 90 cents a year ago. Farmers don't pay road tax for their diesel so prices are still below those at commercial pumps, where a gallon is close to $1.80 in Cape Girardeau.

For farmers in Southeast Missouri, the price of farm diesel is around $1.26 per gallon, actually down from $1.39 just a couple of weeks ago. That notwithstanding, Jackson MFA Oil plant manager Roger Hamm said the general increase in the cost of fuel has taken its toll on local farmers.

The price of fertilizer and the energy for irrigation are up, and by as much as 50 percent, said Gerald Bryan, agronomy specialist with the University Extension office in Jackson. Ninety percent of the cost of nitrogen fertilizer is based on the price of natural gas.

This especially hurts corn and cotton farmers, who require a high amount of nitrogen fertilizer. Bryan said corn usually needs about a pound of fertilizer per bushel. With fertilizer prices jumping from 18 cents to 32 cents per pound, Bryan said that it makes quite a dent on farmers' wallets.

The continuing energy increases this year come just as farmers were feeling optimistic. They were anticipating good returns because of stronger commodity prices across the board, Bredenkamp said. Corn prices have been steady at around $3 a bushel, soybeans at around $8 to $9 per bushel.

Bryan also said that this year has been drier than usual, with Southeast Missouri short about 9 inches of rain for this point in the year. This means a higher cost of running irrigation systems.

Bryan said that about two-thirds of area irrigation systems run on diesel fuel. He added that while Southeast Missouri farms have more shallow wells that make it easier to pull water for irrigation than in west Texas, it is still hurting farmers here.

Hamm said that some farmers are trying to offset the rising fuel cost by no-tilling, or planting in the residue of last year's crop, thus eliminating equipment passes that use up gas. Bryan estimated that tilling costs about $6 a pass per acre.

While the majority of concern among farmers may be growing, Bryan said that the summer is only the beginning.

"They'll be more concerned this fall when they're running their trucks and combines," Bryan said.

Staff writer Tony Rehagen contributed to this report.