Rising fuel prices add to growing list of hardships for Pennsylvania farmers

As fuel prices jump, farming is one industry that's feeling the pinch more than most. Pennsylvania farmers say economic factors like diesel fuel and fertilizer costs are pushing them to the edge. 

On the Marburger Dairy Farm in Butler County, some things never change. The sun comes up, sometimes rain falls, but keeping the farm up and running has never been predictable. 

"If we can break even, we are happy," said James Robb from Marburger Farm. "The margins aren't there."

From war in the Middle East to tariffs to a drop in demand for some commodities, economics on the farm are mostly figured out in red ink. 

"If you take our fertilizer costs, our fuel costs, our manpower and seed costs, we're right about $550 to almost $600 an acre to put seed in the ground," said Robb.

For reference, Marburger Farm plants on about 600 acres. 

"The commodity prices really aren't that good, the corn prices n'at are right around where they were in the '80s when most of the farms went out of business," Robb said. 

So it may come as no surprise that the number of farm failures has grown. According to the American Farm Bureau Federation, U.S. farm failures surged in 2025, with Chapter 12 bankruptcies increasing by 46%. Nationwide, about 100 more farms filed for bankruptcy compared to the year prior.

In Pennsylvania, the federation says bankruptcies shot up by 160% in 2025. That equates to 10 farms statewide, compared to two the year before. 

For now, the price of red dye agricultural use fuel is going up, but due to lower federal and state taxes on agricultural fuel, most farmers say it's manageable, for now.

"We got two 300-horsepower tractors, and they run 12, 13 hours a day," Robb said. 

Still, farmers say it's a tough time right now. 

"There's not enough money to support the farms, so your average family farm now, people have to work jobs outside of the farm," Robb said. 

But failure for him isn't an option.

"You gotta tighten your belt and cut costs anywhere you can," Robb said.