Record diesel prices come at a difficult time for Illinois farmers with harvest season underway

Surging gas and diesel prices are putting the pinch on farmers with harvest season underway, and could drive grocery prices even further up.

As of Thursday, the average price of gas in Chicago was $5.29 per gallon, and the average price of diesel was $6.99 per gallon. Nationally, the average price of diesel stands at $6.51 only slightly down from the record of $6.53 a gallon on Tuesday.

For farmers in harvest season, the squeeze is getting tighter and tighter.

"Certainly, when I wake up in the morning, I'm thinking about diesel," said Marty Gray, owner of Gray Farms in Watseka, about 90 miles south of Chicago. "I'm thinking about the trucks running, the [grain] elevator, and stuff like that."

Diesel is the first thing on Gray's mind, because margins are already tight as harvest season gets underway on land his father and grandfather farmed before him.

"So, we're just trying to decide do we fill up the tanks now, or do we need to wait a little bit? Will it get better, or will it get worse?" Gray said.

Gray said his farm is a small family-owned operation focused on quality, but this year is tough.

"It's very much a one foot in front of the other kind of scenario for us," he said.

With the average price of diesel in Illinois at $6.80 per gallon, the Illinois Farm Bureau Director of National Legislation Rebecca Barnett said, "Illinois farmers need a reliable, affordable, and predictable fuel supply, particularly during harvest season."

"Farmers want longer-term policy solutions that strengthen domestic energy production and expand our nation's fuel supply, including continued support for American biofuels," Barnett added.

The continued rise in fuel costs is not only hitting drivers, its driving up the costs of food for shoppers. Grocery prices are up about 30% since 2019, in part due to rising fuel costs.

"It's ultimately the consumer who is going to pay the price of these supply disruptions," said University of Illinois Chicago economics professor Jacob Robbins.

With international conflict ongoing, specifically the war in Iran, Robbins doesn't expect relief anytime soon.

"There is no indication right now that inflation is softening," he said.

If prices don't come down soon, Robbins is on recession watch.

"In another six months, I would expect there to be a recession in the U.S.," he said.

What's his advice with budgets tightening due to these rising costs?

"You may be paying more for your heating oil in the coming months, so start tracking your expenditures. Start shopping around. Now might be the time to go to the less-expensive grocery store, because we have to be realistic," he said.