American farmers heading into harvest are paying more for diesel than ever, with the national average reaching $5.85 a gallon on 4 September, the first record, and $5.95 on 8 September, market analyst Naomi Blohm of Total Farm Marketing writes in Farm Progress. Before the United States and Israel launched their war against Iran in late February, diesel averaged just under $4.

Crude oil has had an extremely volatile year, she notes: futures traded near $55 a barrel in early 2026, soared to almost $120 by mid-March after the conflict began, eased to $70 by late June and have trended higher since, bouncing around $100. Regular gasoline is near $4.15 a gallon according to the US Energy Information Administration, but diesel users have fared far worse.

Beyond the Middle East, Blohm points to US inventories of diesel and heating oil at 20-year lows. EIA data show distillate stocks fell 2.2 million barrels to 103.4 million in the week ending 26 August, nearly 15% below the five-year seasonal average and down 5 million barrels over six weeks. A third factor is the Black Sea: Ukrainian attacks on refineries led Russia to halt diesel exports.

In conversations with farmers preparing for autumn, she writes, it is hard to be excited about $5 corn when the fuel to run combines, tractors and trucks has soared at the same moment. Unless a peace deal is reached in the Middle East or the Black Sea region, she expects energy prices to stay elevated in the coming weeks.

Source: Farm Progress