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The ongoing impact of rising fuel prices

Skyrocketing fuel costs have become the wild card for many farmers’ bottom line this year. Justin Ewalt farms in southwest Iowa.  “It hurts a little bit,” he says.  “Every time you pull up to a pump.” He tells Brownfield he’s starting to flesh out fuel costs for this fall. “We’re talking like $4.50 for farm fuel,” he says.  “That’s a little worrisome on the horizon because I don’t think people have done anything with fall fuel yet and it’s something we’re going to have to jump through a few hoops to make work.”

Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm says the Biden administration is taking steps to increase supplies of oil in an effort to reduce prices.   “By opening up our strategic petroleum reserve and releasing a million barrels a day for the next six months while our oil and gas industry also increases production,” she says.  “But that’s still not going to be enough to account for the 2 million barrels of oil that have been pulled off the market because of Russia’s invasion into Ukraine.”

While the administration working to alleviate the pain at the pump, she tells Brownfield it isn’t an easy fix.  “It is going to be tough over the next few months for anybody relying on a product that’s derived from a barrel of oil,” she says. 

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