NEW PLYMOUTH, Idaho — A fourth-generation Idaho farmer is warning that record-high diesel prices are threatening to put family farms out of business, as rising fuel costs outpace stagnant commodity prices.
Galen Lee runs a family farm in New Plymouth off I-84, growing alfalfa, mint, corn, asparagus, and sugar beets. During harvest season, his equipment runs every day and some machines hold hundreds of gallons of diesel.
"The price we're paying for fuel is about twice what it was a year ago," Lee said.
WATCH: Diesel prices take a toll on farmers
Lee's forage harvester, one of the many machines he showed me today, holds 300 gallons. At $6 a gallon, that's a significant expense.
"$1,800 to fill it if it's completely empty," Lee said.
Lee said he has spent close to $5,000 on diesel in a single week, and at current prices, he may have to dip into the farm's equity if costs don't come down.
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Diesel has become one of his top expenses, compounding a broader list of rising input costs, while the prices he receives for his crops have remained flat for decades.
"Some commodities, you know, wheat and sugar, sugar beets, we're getting the same price we were 30 years ago," Lee explained.
The state average for diesel sits at $6.24 per gallon, with no signs of relief on the horizon.
Lee said he received notice that prices are set to climb another 20 to 25 cents.
"I just got notice that it's going up another 20 to 25 cents tomorrow," Lee said.
Despite the financial strain, Lee says there's nothing he can do.
"We have to have diesel. There's no way around it. There's no alternative," Lee said.
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President Trump has pointed to strikes on Russian oil refineries and other infrastructure as factors triggering diesel fuel shortages and higher prices. American farmers are at the end of the supply chain and, as a result, take the brunt of low commodity pricing and high input costs.
If prices don't lower soon, it could price farmers like Lee out of business.
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