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LANSING, Mich. (News 10) – Michigan reached record diesel prices on Sept. 23 at nearly $7 a gallon, according to the American Automobile Association, as global supplies tighten amid the conflict in Iran.
Agriculture is the second largest industry in Michigan. Farmers have been feeling a financial squeeze for years, and diesel prices are the latest increase they have had to manage.
Robert Reese is a fourth-generation grower in DeWitt Township.
“You know, we’ve seen $5 gas in the past. It’s not fun to fill up your gas vehicles, but we’ve never seen $7 fuel before,” Reese said.
Filling up semi-trucks
“These semi-trucks that hold a couple hundred gallons, it’s a very large amount to fill them up. And that doesn’t last very long either,” Reese said.
Some farms reach a breaking point
“You hear it all the time of people are finally ready to retire just because the economics are not working anymore,” Reese said.
Theresa Sisung, commodity and regulatory relations manager with the Michigan Farm Bureau, said the state is not seeing a mass wave of farm closures, but bankruptcies are slowly ticking up across Michigan and the country.
“It’s just been tough where what you’re selling your product for is going down, but what you’re having to spend to grow that product and take care of that crop is increasing. And we’ve seen that trend for a few years now,” Sisung said.
Reese said he is committed to pushing forward.
“You hope for above average yields. You hope for a good price. But until we actually get into it here in the next couple of weeks, we’re still… we’re still guessing,” Reese said.
The Michigan Farm Bureau notes that financial strain can carry a heavy emotional toll. Free mental health and business crisis support for farmers is available through MSU Extension.
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