Valley farmers battling high fuel costs
1/3
It isn't just drivers who are affected by this pain at the pump.
The high price of fuel is having a serious impact on local farmers who use diesel to power all of their machinery.
Farmers burn through a lot of diesel.
The Pidgeon family farm in Salem encompasses 2500 acres for corn, soybean and hay.
"We run two big tillage equipment tractors. Each holds about 300-350 gallons of fuel. That will last them one day," said Taylor Pidgeon.
The Schaefer family farm in Greenford is so big they actually have two 18 wheelers to transport all the corn and soybean they plant.
Between skyrocketing costs of fuel, fertilizer and weed killer, farmers are sweating the math and praying for the best.
"Our margins are pretty tight on a per acre basis and every expense higher is something we got to work a little harder on," said Evan Schaefer.
To save on fuel, they use precision farming where a satellite GPS carefully plans the tractor's every move.
"The rows are perfectly spaces so we are not overlapping and driving over the same spot twice so we can be more efficient with it," added Schaefer.
How long can farmers keep this up with paying the extra cost? According to economists, a lot needs to change for that to happen.
"We got to get inflation under control. We got to figure out a way to determine if we can produce more gas here, locally, regionally and throughout the U.S.," said Dr. Robert Badowski, economist with Westminter College.
Fortunately for local farmers the payout for corn and soy is higher right now, helping to make up for those high fuels costs but if things don't get any better you'll see farms shutting down and that has global implications.