Diesel Continued from Page 1 policy could eventually push up prices at the pump. “That cuts off the competition for those barrels from the rest of the world,” he said. For farmers, the use of diesel is often unavoidable. Yolo County farmer Bill Cruickshank, who serves as chairman of the California Wheat Commission, said he and other wheat growers already felt the sting of ris- ing diesel prices when they harvested their crop earlier this year. With the recent price surge, he said wheat farmers are seeing their fuel costs increase by about 6% overall. Jeromy Geiger, a Glenn County farmer and co-owner of an agricultural trucking business, said diesel powers all his farm equipment—from tractors to pump en- gines. His trucking business is entirely de- pendent on diesel to keep its fleet running. He said he raised the seasonal rate this year on his trucking customers to account for higher diesel costs but is try- ing to avoid changing them again in the middle of the season. “We’d like to hope that we don’t ad- just immediately and that we’ve factored enough to where we can weather the storm and not hammer our customers, who are all farmers,” he said. “Our trucking busi- ness is built entirely on agriculture, so we feel the pain of the farmer as well.” Geiger said he considered adding elec- tric vehicles to his fleet to reduce his reli- ance on diesel. He contacted Pacific Gas & Electric Co. three or four years ago about installing a charging station in his truck yard. But he said the company told him it wasn’t feasible because the necessary en- ergy infrastructure wasn’t available in the rural area where he works and lives. As a result, he has continued to rely on diesel. “For some people, it makes total sense, and it’s totally doable,” Geiger said. “But it can’t work for everybody.” Colusa County farmer Chris Torres, who also owns an agricultural trucking busi- ness, said he faces similar challenges as diesel prices soar. He said fuel is a major expense across his 400 acres of rice, from powering harvesters and tractors to man- aging rice straw after harvest. Overall, he estimated his fuel costs have gone up by at least 50%. “It’s all expensive,” Torres said. With his trucking business, he said he has already had to increase the fuel sur- charge for customers. In the past, he ad- justed the surcharge seasonally, but rising prices may force him to update it weekly. He said he hopes to avoid daily adjust- ments but acknowledged the cost of fuel has increased considerably. Cummings, the Stanford economist, said an end to the war in Iran and a re- sumption of regular oil shipments would likely bring prices down. But without knowing when those conditions will re- turn, he said it’s hard to predict when die- sel prices will fall. He said global inventories of crude oil and refined products were well-stocked before the war but have steadily declined
since it began. The longer the conflict con- tinues, the greater the risk that fuel prices could reach levels that make the current in- crease seem mild in comparison, he added. Even if the war ended tomorrow, Cum- mings said, it would take time for fuel prices to ease, as refineries would need time to process crude oil and replenish depleted inventories. “If all of the inventories are gone, then there’s an acute physical scarcity, which
is going to take weeks to get sorted out,” he said. For growers, Cruickshank said the price of wheat has climbed due to reduced ex- ports from Russia and Ukraine amid their ongoing conflict. But he said farmers have few options for cutting costs in response to the higher diesel prices because many already operate on tight margins. He said he hopes disruptions to oil shipments end soon, particularly
because he doesn’t expect assistance from state officials. Torres said he hopes profits from last year’s crop will be enough to cover the loans needed to plant this year’s crop. Be- yond that, he said it’s hard to plan for what comes next. “Volatility is extremely challenging,” he said. “There’s not much we can do.” Manola Secaira is a staff writer for Ag Alert. She can be reached at msecaira@cfbf.com.
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October 7, 2026 Ag Alert 9
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