American farmers feel the pain of the conflict in Iran from thousands of miles away. Will Hutchinson will soon begin his spring planting season, one of the most energy-dependent times of year for farmers.
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Farmers are working with notoriously tight profit margins and the high cost of fueling their equipment is an extra budget layer they have to think about this planting season.
About 20% of the world’s daily oil supply passes through the Strait of Hormuz, off the coast of Iran. In retaliation for US attacks in the Middle East, the Iranian regime has threatened to attack all ships crossing the strait.
The impasse means higher gas prices worldwide, including in the US
Farmers are preparing for the spring planting season, one of the most energy-dependent times of the year. Will Hutchinson, a farmer from Middle Tennessee, said the timing of the conflict in Iran could not be worse.
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“With the timing of the recent events here in the planting season, it has caught us a little bit off guard,” Hutchinson said.
Hutchinson burns about 500 gallons of diesel fuel every day during the planting season. On an average day during the fall harvest, it uses approximately 1,500 liters of diesel and 5,000 liters of liquefied petroleum gas (LP).
Many farmers try to make ends meet with what they already have in stock. Hutchinson has 20,000 liters of diesel in two metal tanks on his property. It stores 6,000 pounds of LPG fuel just steps away.
“If we don’t find a solution here in the next few months, we’re going to burn through the buffer that we have here,” Hutchinson said.
On Wednesday, the national average for a gallon of diesel was $4.83. The price has increased by more than a dollar in less than a month.
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Nick Ewen, Senior Editorial Director of The Points Guy, said gas prices could continue to rise for several weeks even after the conflict in Iran ends.
“The big question is how high they can go, and we just don’t know. It depends on how long the conflict continues and how long the Strait of Hormuz chokepoint ends up being,” Ewen said. “The bottom line is that anyone who tries to fill up their car or truck at the gas pump will likely be in pain for several weeks.”
Hutchinson said budgeting for high fuel prices extends beyond the tractors he uses in the field. He pays for the fuel used at all levels of the supply chain.
“We are being pushed on fuel because of field operations, and then it’s also up to us to get our product to market. Every step of that process has to involve diesel fuel,” Hutchinson said. “It looks at it from two different angles: the production costs and the transportation costs.”
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Crude oil made up more than 75% of U.S. petroleum imports in 2023, according to the Energy Information Administration. The US exported more than 4 million barrels of its own crude oil that same year.
“If anything, this underlines the need for as much energy independence as possible,” Hutchinson said. “If we can produce that much energy in this country, it will help cushion the blow in times like these.”
