Rising Fuel, Fertilizer Costs Among Challenges for Farmers to Start 2026 Growing Season

A livestock economist says the volatility in fuel prices highlights the need for farmers to have a solid risk management plan in place.  

Kenny Burdine, with the University of Kentucky, tells the Brownfield network that every segment of the cattle industry is feeling the impact of higher fuel prices, noting that it “impacts the system from start to finish. No question about it.” 

According to AAA, the national average for regular gasoline is $4.05 a gallon, that’s up 88-cents a gallon on the year. For diesel, the national average is $5.46, up almost $2 on the year.  

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig tells KCHA/KCZE, says increased fuel costs aren’t the only challenges for farmers.

Naig says it all impacts the bottom line.

Still, Naig says farmers have shown an amazing ability to adapt.

Naig made his comments earlier this month in Chickasaw County when he presented a Wergin Good Farm Neighbor Award to the Larry and Joanne Tupper Family, who operate Poppe Farms about six miles south of Ionia.