The U.S.-Iran conflict has disrupted global fuel supplies and pushed U.S. diesel
to record highs: $5.85/gal on Sept. 4 and a nationwide average of $6.05/gal on
Sept. 11, AAA data show. Paul Mitchell, professor of agricultural and applied
economics at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, said the surge is sharply
compressing farm profits by raising fuel and transport costs across harvesting,
on-farm handling and shipments to market.