While all of us across Arizona and across the nation are feeling the pain at the pump right now, diesel users, including Arizona farmers, are especially feeling that pinch.
Diesel prices are up roughly $2 per gallon from this time last year, according to information ABC15 obtained from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Our Nick Ciletti recently spoke to the Director of the Arizona Department of Agriculture about this.
Director Paul Brierley says Arizona farmers are feeling it in a variety of ways - and not just with diesel.
“It’s very stressful,” says Brierley, who once worked in the hay business and has experienced the agriculture industry from that vantage point as well. “Everything you do, you’re using diesel. With tractors, most pick-ups, and it’s more than just that. When you have this kind of energy crunch, it’s fertilizer too. The availability of fertilizer and the price, too, is through the roof.”
Brierley also says farmers are facing fuel surcharges and increased shipping costs for supplies and transport costs for their own products and crops.
Brierley says Arizona has roughly 17,000 farms, but fewer than 500 (the larger ones) produce about 95% of overall agricultural sales.
