Ukraine invasion may bring more fuel spikes for farmers
crops, he noted his farmalready is “pretty much non-tillage,” though orchard prun- ings still need shredding, andhis trees and vines need spraying, all of which require diesel-running tractors andequipment. “We’renot going tocut backonwhatwe need to get done,” he said. To save water, Phillips said he’s using more modern soil-moisture sensors, which allow him to run his irrigation pumps in shorter durations, and that in turn also saves energy. LeeMcCorkle, who farms rice andolives in Glenn County and operates a trucking
business, saidhe’s able topass on thehigh- er fuel cost in the formof surcharges to his trucking customers, but he can’t do that in hisfarmingbusiness.Duringthebusyplant- ing andharvest seasons, he saidhis fleet of truckswill consume a storage tankholding 12,000gallonsof fuel inabout aweek. On the farm,McCorkle said there aren’t toomanyareaswherehecouldcut fuel use without negative consequences, pointing out that farmersalready “are trying tobeas conservative as they can.”
ByChing Lee Already facing sticker shock on ma- terials and services they need to farm, California farmers are now bracing for further spikes to fuel and other energy costs as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine pushes crude oil prices higher. Some economists predict the conflict and resulting sanctions aimed at hurting the Russian economywill affect all petro- leum-based products, including diesel fuel and fertilizers key to farming. The price increases come as California farm- ers rev up tractors and other implements for spring planting. “It’s just crazy the amount of cost that it’s coming out to be,” said Kings County farmer BrianMedeiros. Diesel and gasoline account for about 10% to 15% of his production costs. Because the weather has been so dry, Medeiros said, his pumps and irrigation equipment arewhat’sconsuming themost fuel right now. Medeirosnoted that healready finished two irrigations on his wheat crop and will need to do another this week. He’s also doing a lotmore preplant irrigation, to es- tablishenoughmoisture in the soil tohelp sustain crops in the summer. To take advantage of the cooler weath- er and higher water table this time of year, he’s preparing fields for his summer crops weeks earlier, because there’smore water comingoutofhiswells.All thisworkrequires pickups, quads and gators tomove people around tocheck sprinklers and fields. Transportation alone, Medeiros said, has already consumed half his fuel bud- get for the year. With higher prices and increased use, he’s now spending $125 an hour on diesel versus $50. Medeiros said he has some fuel storage onthefarmandtriestofillupbeforerefiner- iesmaketheannualswitchtoproducingthe moreexpensivesummer-blendfuel.That’s usuallya50- to60-cents-per-gallonsavings. “It’s just unfortunate that we didn’t do it before the whole Russia thing started, because nowwe’re already seeing that in- creased price,” he said. As a fruit grower, packer and shipper in Tulare County, Doug Phillips’ energy bill stretches fromthe field to thepacking- house, where cold storage remains “a big electricity user.” Inaddition torunning tractorsandpick- upsonthe farm, hisgreenhouseconsumes “a lot of propane,”whichhe saidhas “gone sky high.” To protect his crops from freez- ing temperatures late lastmonth, hehadto runwindmachines that alsousepropane. The higher price of diesel has shown up in the cost of his trucking, whether it’s hauling bins of fruit from the field to the packinghouse or moving packed fruit to national markets. Ocean vessels to ship fruit overseas also runondiesel, henoted, and those costs had already skyrocketed due to container shortages, port conges- tion and general supply-chain issues. On the import side, Phillips said he’s
seen“crazyprices” toshipeverything from packagingmaterials to shade nets used in the orchard. “Everything’s goingup, and it’snot tran- sitory,” he said. “We’re in for a rough ride going forward.” To be more fuel efficient, he said he’s boughtnewvehicles, includingpickupsthat runondiesel.Becausehegrowspermanent
See FUEL, Page 21
FARMING FOR OUR FUTURE
The future comes fast. You plan, you adapt, you innovate, because that’s what keeps you in business and what keeps this country fed. And we’re here to help— for all the tomorrows to come.
WE ARE FARM CREDIT A nationwide network of customer-owned associations supporting rural communities and agriculture with reliable, consistent credit and financial services.
FarmCreditAlliance.com (855) 611-4110 toll free
American AgCredit CoBank Farm Credit West Fresno Madera Farm Credit
March 9, 2022 Ag Alert 3
Powered by FlippingBook