FRESNO, Calif \u2013 Farmers in California\u2019s Central Valley were already facing the pain of high diesel prices when a spike in immigration sweeps this week sent a chilling effect through the region\u2019s farming community just as the harvest season winds down.<\/p>\n
The cost of diesel has risen in part by global conflicts, such as the U.S. war with Iran, and by production capacity issues at domestic refineries. Current diesel prices stand at an average of $4.39 per gallon nationally and $6.44 per gallon<\/a> in California.<\/p>\n The high price of diesel is also being felt among consumers, with the cost of goods jumping up in recent weeks, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index<\/a>.<\/p>\n Last week President Trump pressured Europe to release an emergency quantity of diesel<\/a> to help alleviate the U.S. market. It\u2019s unclear how soon the benefits of that emergency diesel would be felt.<\/p>\n The cost of living crisis, paired with regional disruptions over immigration enforcement, also come as voters gear up for a critical midterm election in November and have been showing signs of frustration with economic policies.<\/p>\n Farmers feel the squeeze of diesel<\/p>\n Manuel Cunha, Jr., the long-standing president of the farm advocacy group Nisei Farmers League in Fresno, told KVPR\u2019s Soreath Hok in a recent episode of Central Valley Daily<\/a> that he is concerned the high cost of diesel will have an effect on next year\u2019s crops.<\/p>\n \u201cThe demand for fuel in agriculture is large. What farmers are doing right now, the cost is so high, they\u2019re cutting back on various cultural activities.\u201d Cunha, Jr. said.<\/p>\n Farmers in the Central Valley depend on diesel gas to keep their tractors and other farm equipment running as well as to ship goods across the state and country. They were already feeling the squeeze of tariffs<\/a>.<\/p>\n Cunha, Jr. said a friend of his recently had to deliver a truck load of goods to New York.<\/p>\n \u201cHe has two diesel tanks on each side of the truck, 150-gallon tanks, and he paid $1,255 a tank,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not clear how much higher diesel prices will climb, but farmers are running out of options altogether.<\/p>\n \u201cThe industries and the truckers and the farmers are getting tired, and when we get to this level, it’s out of our hands,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Randy Villegas, a Democrat who is running for Congress in House District 22 against incumbent Republican David Valadao, spoke outside a Bakersfield gas station on Thursday where prices for gas were close to $7 for unleaded fuel and over $8 for diesel.<\/p>\n He said he was against the war in Iran, which is contributing to the rising prices, but also called on state and federal legislators to find solutions domestically to bring down prices \u2013 including by bringing down federal gas taxes.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen we look at the federal gas and diesel tax, that is 18 cents for the gas, 24 cents for diesel, and that adds up for truck drivers who are spending $1,200 to fill up their tanks,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Immigration sweeps in Fresno County add to farming concerns<\/p>\n Immigration agents have been sweeping through Fresno County in recent days, appearing to detain farmworkers along rural roads and others driving along busy city streets.<\/p>\n Community-reported incidents of immigration agents conducting traffic stops<\/a> in Fresno County have sent shock through the community. The sweeps come as farmers gear up to finish harvest for most crops in the Valley.<\/p>\n In a statement on Thursday, the Nisei Farmers League also called on ICE to respect \u201cthe rights of farmers, farmworkers and communities.\u201d<\/p>\n Cunha, Jr., the president of the league, said he was concerned about the reports that immigration agents have entered agricultural fields on privately owned land to question farmworkers about their immigration status.<\/p>\n \u201cThis disruption is causing great harm to families and businesses. Parents are not sending their children to school, receiving medical needs for their family members, or even going to stores to get food. These are not criminals. They are hardworking individuals in our communities,\u201d Cunha, Jr. said in a statement.<\/p>\n