US diesel prices at record $6: American farmers feel the heat as harvest season begins

US farmers are facing a bigger fuel bill as diesel prices hit record highs just as the corn and soybean harvest gets underway, pushing up the cost of running combines, tractors and trucks. The national average price of diesel reached $5.85 a gallon on September 4, the first time it had risen that high, and climbed further to $6.05 a gallon on Friday, according to AAA. That is 60% higher than the roughly $3.76 a gallon average recorded before the US and Israel launched their war against Iran in late February.The rise has added to a difficult year for farmers already paying more for fertiliser, seeds, equipment, chemicals and other inputs. The higher fuel costs are also affecting the movement of crops, from fields to farms and eventually to buyers.“Those prices hurt," Paul Mitchell, a professor of agricultural and applied economics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison told AP.