Increasing diesel costs hits farmers hard

CAMILLA, Ga. (WALB) -“There’s no way, no way to show any profit or even a break-even point.”

Tom Windhausen owns a farm in Mitchell County and primarily grows cotton. He says he struggles to profit as the prices are now.

People he trusts tell him the problem could get even more out of hand.

“With that everything is fluid and everything going up, up, up. It’s hard to pencil in a number when the meter is running wide open. There’s no stability,“ Windhausen says.

He tells me fertilizer used to cost him $12,000 and this year he expects it to cost him $30,000 or more.

Windhausen says these costs are not enough to offset the increasing prices they will sell cotton for. This year, he estimates will settle near $1.25.

I asked him if buying a newer tractor that’s more fuel-efficient would help. He says it’s smarter to keep his older tractors. He hopes gas prices are not a long-term problem.

‘’We’re losing money anyway and we’re going to stack up a 2,3,400,000 dollar note on top of that? That’s not even an option,“ Windhausen says

Growth consultant Caleb Trough says this cost will pass on to the consumer in addition to the inflation we’ve seen.

“You look at all of the fuel a farmer has to go through to be able to plant a crop, take care of a crop, harvest it, get it to market. If a farmer has to spend more money to make a crop, you’re going to see those prices in a grocery store sooner or later,” Trough says.

Increased food costs will also be because of getting products to the store. Trough says it costs $2,000 for a semi-truck to fill up their tank.

Farmers get their gas from tankers like gas stations do. They have to buy for months of supply.

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