Rising fuel costs from war with Iran is hurting Arizona farmers

The war with Iran has led to a rapid growth in gas prices over the last two weeks. The skyrocketing fuel prices are straining local farmers.

Paul Ollerton is a farmer near Casa Grande. He says in the last two weeks, he’s seen diesel prices climb about a dollar and a half.

And because nitrogen and hydrogen for fertilizer often come from natural gas, fertilizer prices are likely going to go up as well.

But Ollerton says he can’t just increase the prices of the crops he harvests to compensate.

“It's a traded commodity. Most of the agricultural commodities are traded on the commodities market, and we have no control," Ollerton said.

That means many farmers are being cautious with their fertilizer and fuel use. It also means farmers will likely have to choose which crops they cultivate carefully.

“It's just, it's almost at the point to where you want to plant what you can lose the least amount of money on," Ollerton said.

And for Ollerton, that crop is cotton.

"The prices that we're getting paid for things, a guy has got to be frugal in what his inputs are. And he's got to watch everything real close," Ollerton said.

Grocery prices aren’t likely to be immediately impacted, but they could if the conflict lasts for a month or more.