Gas tax suspension offers limited relief to Georgia farmers facing record diesel prices

Diesel prices have hit record highs just as farmers fuel up for harvest in Georgia.

Fueling up farm equipment is costing thousands more than it did just last year, according to a cotton farmer CBS News spoke with.

Lee Nunn is a third-generation farmer in Morgan County. Right now, he's harvesting cotton with seven pieces of equipment. Nunn estimates he burns 80 gallons of diesel an hour between all of those machines.  He is out on that equipment eight to ten hours a day, burning about 800 gallons of diesel. With prices where they are, Nunn estimates he's spending over $100,000 more on his fuel budget this year. 

"It's disheartening, to be honest. We work all year to do what we do on the farm, and to have an added cost right at the end of the year, our crop year, while we're harvesting, it's very hard to swallow," Nunn said. 

Governor Brian Kemp's gas tax suspension just went into effect, bringing prices down slightly.

"Anything helps. It's a small amount in the overall scheme of things, but it will help. We really need the overall fuel costs to come down in a few months hopefully, to ease some of the burden," Nunn said. 

Nunn says it's not just gas that has gone up for farmers: seed, fertilizer, and other supplies are also costing more. Nunn estimates his spending is about 50% more on inputs than it was in 2020.