2026-09-18 10:06:02 / 路透社
华盛顿9月18日电（路透社）——在密苏里州东北部，种植玉米、大豆和饲养肉牛的农场主阿迪·约德（Addie Yoder）每年9月中旬至10月下旬都会操作两台联合收割机、三辆半挂卡车和多台拖拉机，用于收割和运输农作物。
她说，目前柴油价格处于历史高位，仅一台联合收割机就需要300加仑燃油，她眼下能做的只有尽量压缩其他开支。
专栏作家罗恩·博索（Ron Bousso）撰写的路透社《能源动态》简报涵盖全球能源行业所有必备资讯。点击此处订阅。
在南达科他州东南部，种植大豆、玉米和饲养肉牛的农场主德鲁·彼得森（Drew Peterson）预计，本季仅为一台联合收割机加油的单日成本就高达1500美元，是去年的两倍，而他还需要使用众多农机来完成收割。
“你总不能说，柴油太贵了，我就不收割了，”他说，“你只能在预算范围内想办法维持运转。”
全美范围内，农场主们正处于收获旺季的顶峰，却面临创纪录的柴油价格，进一步挤压本已微薄的利润空间。在11月的中期选举前，美国杂货店的食品价格似乎不可避免地会上涨，而生活成本预计将成为选民关注的首要议题。
美以对伊朗发动战争以及乌克兰袭击俄罗斯炼油厂，加剧了全球燃油供应紧张。根据美国能源信息署的数据，本周美国柴油均价创下每加仑6.29美元的新纪录，较一年前的3.74美元上涨了68%。
密歇根州立大学经济学家戴维·奥尔特加（David Ortega）表示，柴油价格上涨会推高食品供应链各个环节的成本，从农场收割到将食品运往杂货店的货运配送。
“我们的大部分食品都靠卡车运输，而这些卡车使用柴油，”奥尔特加说。
根据最新消费者价格指数，8月份消费者食品价格同比上涨2.7%。
燃油价格翻倍
农场主可以使用免税的非道路用柴油。但即便享受折扣，许多农场主的燃油成本仍较去年大幅上升。
韦恩·古拉特（Wayne Gularte）在加利福尼亚州冈萨雷斯附近约600英亩土地上种植多种蔬菜，他表示自己的燃油成本上涨了约40%，从每加仑约5美元涨到了7美元。
为节省成本，他重新启用了一些上世纪50年代的老式汽油动力拖拉机，并停开了农场的一辆柴油皮卡。“我们能赚到的钱，都是省下来的钱，”古拉特说。
普渡大学经济学家迈克尔·兰格迈尔（Michael Langemeier）表示，今年玉米种植的每亩燃油成本较去年增加11美元，大豆种植每亩增加7美元。
伊利诺伊大学农业经济学家尼克·保尔森（Nick Paulson）表示，自8月中旬以来，玉米、大豆和小麦期货均大幅上涨，并在9月初创下多年新高，但与历史平均水平相比，农场主的利润仍然微薄。他还警告称，高油价可能会推高明年种子和化肥的成本。
“令人担忧的是，每加仑6美元以上的柴油将开始给其他所有商品带来通胀压力，甚至会削弱部分本可实现的更高盈利潜力，”他说。
华盛顿州斯波坎附近的干草农场主、华盛顿农场局第二副主席乔恩·保罗·德赖弗（Jon Paul Driver）表示，许多农场主已经在勒紧裤腰带过日子，几乎没有余地应对燃油价格上涨。
“眼下燃油价格每上涨一分，农场就多背负一笔债务，”德赖弗说。
美国堪萨斯州共和党参议员罗杰·马歇尔（Roger Marshall）在9月11日的一封信中要求农业部长布鲁克·罗林斯（Brooke Rollins）为农场主提供临时救济，帮助他们“在一年中柴油消耗最密集的时期之一承担巨额的意外燃油成本”。
美国农业部发言人表示，该机构正在“全力以赴”应对高油价，并提及罗林斯在9月15日的《新闻马克斯》采访中称，未来几周将就此话题发布更多公告。
食品价格或上涨
奥尔特加表示，尽管燃油在食品成本中所占比例不大，但未来几个月供应链将消化更高的燃油成本，消费者仍可能看到食品价格上涨。
他说，这种影响可能需要一段时间才能显现，因为零售商可能会试图消化短期的价格上涨，或者此前锁定的低价货运合同尚未反映燃油附加费。
他补充称，最容易出现价格上涨的商品是农产品、乳制品和肉类等生活必需品，这些商品需要使用燃油密集型的冷藏卡车运输。
DAT货运与分析公司首席分析师迪恩·克罗克（Dean Croke）表示，在收获季仅过一半的情况下，华盛顿州亚基马谷通过冷藏拖车运输苹果和梨的运费已达到四年来的新高。
他说，加州农产品的运输成本较去年上涨了40%至120%。在加州一些城市，柴油价格已突破每加仑8美元。
克罗克表示，通常需要提前支付燃油费用的独立卡车司机可能无法承受进一步的涨价。
“我们即将看到由柴油价格推动的货运公司破产，”他说。
路透社记者莉亚·道格拉斯（Leah Douglas）在华盛顿，丽莎·贝尔特兰（Lisa Baertlein）和尼科拉·格鲁姆（Nichola Groom）在洛杉矶报道；蒂姆·麦克劳克林（Tim McLaughlin）在波士顿，朱莉·英格沃斯（Julie Ingwersen）在芝加哥补充报道。艾米丽·施马尔（Emily Schmall）和戴维·格雷戈里奥（David Gregorio）编辑
Record US diesel prices squeeze farmers; food prices may rise
2026-09-18 10:06:02 / Reuters
WASHINGTON, Sept 18 (Reuters) – In northeast Missouri, Addie Yoder, a corn, soybean and cattle farmer, runs two combines, three semi-trucks and several tractors from mid-September to late October to harvest and transport her crops.
With diesel prices at record highs and just one combine requiring 300 gallons of the fuel, the best she can do is try to curb other expenses, she said.
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In southeast South Dakota, Drew Peterson, a soybean, corn and cattle farmer, expects to spend as much as $1,500 per day to fuel just one of his combines this season, double last year’s costs, among the many machines he must use to bring in his crop.
“You can’t just say, well, diesel is expensive, I’m not going to harvest,” he said. “You’ve just got to make it work in your budget.”
Across the U.S., farmers are confronting record-high diesel prices during the height of harvest season, further squeezing already thin margins. Price hikes seem inevitable at America’s grocery stores ahead of November’s midterm elections, where cost of living is expected to be a primary voter concern.
Global fuel supplies have been squeezed by the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran and Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries. The average U.S. diesel price hit a new record this week, $6.29 per gallon, up 68% from $3.74 a year ago, according to Energy Information Administration data.
Higher diesel prices raise costs in every step of the food supply chain, from harvesting on farms to freight delivery that carries food to grocery stores, said David Ortega, an economist at Michigan State University.
“The majority of our food moves on trucks and those trucks use diesel,” Ortega said.
Consumer food prices rose 2.7% year-on-year in August, according to the latest Consumer Price Index.
FUEL PRICES DOUBLING
Farmers have access to off-road diesel, which is not subject to state and federal taxes. But even with the discount, many farmers are still paying significantly more for fuel than last year.
Wayne Gularte, who grows a variety of vegetables on roughly 600 acres near Gonzales, California, said his fuel costs have risen about 40%, from roughly $5 a gallon to $7 a gallon.
To save on costs, he has put some older gasoline-powered tractors from the 1950s back into service and parked one of the farm’s diesel pickups. “The only money we can make is the money we save,” Gularte said.
Farm fuel costs are up $11 per acre from last year for corn and $7 per acre for soybeans, according to Michael Langemeier, an economist at Purdue University.
Corn, soy and wheat futures all have rallied significantly since mid-August and hit multi-year highs in early September. Still, farmer margins remain thin compared to historical averages, said University of Illinois agricultural economist Nick Paulson, who warned high fuel prices could raise costs next year for seed and fertilizer.
“The concern is that $6-plus per gallon diesel is going to start to put some inflationary pressures on everything else, and even to some of that better profitability potential,” he said.
Many farmers have already tightened their belts, leaving little margin to accommodate fuel price increases, said Jon Paul Driver, a hay farmer near Spokane, Washington, and second vice president of the Washington Farm Bureau.
“Any increase in fuel right now is additional debt for the farm,” Driver said.
U.S. Senator Roger Marshall, a Republican from Kansas, asked Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins in a September 11 letter to provide temporary relief to farmers as they “absorb substantial unplanned fuel costs during one of the most diesel-intensive periods of the year.”
A USDA spokesperson said the agency is “not leaving any stone unturned” on high diesel prices and pointed to a September 15 NewsMax interview in which Rollins said she would have more to announce on the topic in the coming weeks.
FOOD PRICES COULD RISE
Though fuel accounts for a small share of the cost of food, consumers could still see prices rise as the supply chain absorbs higher fuel costs over the coming months, Ortega said.
Those effects could take time to play out because retailers may attempt to absorb short-term price increases, or because freight contracts locked in at lower prices do not yet reflect fuel surcharges, Ortega said.
He added that some of the items most vulnerable to price hikes are grocery essentials like produce, dairy and meat that require fuel-intensive refrigerated trucking.
Rates to move apples and pears via refrigerated trailers out of Washington State’s Yakima Valley have hit a four-year high with the harvest season only halfway over, said Dean Croke, principal analyst at DAT Freight & Analytics.
The cost to transport produce out of California is up 40% to 120% from a year ago. In some California cities, diesel prices have topped $8 per gallon, Croke said.
Independent truckers, who typically pay for fuel up front, may not be able to withstand further hikes, Croke said.
“We’re about to see diesel price-driven bankruptcies” of trucking firms, he said.
Reporting by Leah Douglas in Washington, and Lisa Baertlein and Nichola Groom in Los Angeles; additional reporting by Tim McLaughlin in Boston and Julie Ingwersen in Chicago. Editing by Emily Schmall and David Gregorio
