{"id":254207,"date":"2026-04-17T13:34:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-17T13:34:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/254207\/"},"modified":"2026-04-17T13:34:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T13:34:10","slug":"texas-farmers-face-mounting-pressure-as-fuel-and-fertilizer-costs-climb","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/254207\/","title":{"rendered":"Texas farmers face mounting pressure as fuel and fertilizer costs climb"},"content":{"rendered":"

BRYAN, Texas (KBTX) – Farmers across Texas are facing rising fuel and fertilizer costs that are cutting into profit margins.<\/p>\n

Gerald Pruitt, a farmer in Mexia who sells vegetables at the Brazos Valley Farmers Market, said the increases are impacting his operations. He grows produce like carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, mustard greens, turnip greens and arugula.<\/p>\n

Pruitt uses gas-powered trucks for deliveries and diesel tractors to work his fields.<\/p>\n

\u201cGasoline is up 40%, and diesel is up almost double,\u201d Pruitt said. \u201cIt puts a strain on the bottom line, but the main problem is fertilizer prices and transportation prices once things leave the farm.\u201d<\/p>\n

Texas farmers say rising fuel and fertilizer costs are cutting into profits and forcing difficult decisions.<\/p>\n

Fuel prices climb across Texas<\/p>\n

According to the American Automobile Association (AAA)<\/a>, Texans are averaging about $3.72 for regular unleaded, up 24 cents from a month ago. For diesel fuel, Texans are paying an average of $5.22, up 50 cents from last month.<\/p>\n

The national average for regular unleaded sits at $4.08. The national average for diesel sits at $5.59. Crude oil sits just under $100 a barrel.<\/p>\n

\"AverageAverage fuel costs in the United States accoring to the American Automobile Association (AAA).(kbtx)<\/p>\n

Pruitt, who has been farming in Limestone County since he was 13 years old, said crude oil prices have increased significantly.<\/p>\n

\u201cCrude oil is up around $95 a barrel the last time I checked, and it used to be around $60,\u201d Pruitt said.<\/p>\n

\"AA leading factor behind the surge in fuel costs is the spike in crude oil prices.(kbtx)<\/p>\n

Rising costs force difficult decisions<\/p>\n

Pruitt said he drove all over Mexia last week looking for fertilizer and came up empty.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s why I came up here to buy fertilizer because they still have fertilizers that was refined or built, made before all this oil and stuff went out,\u201d Pruitt said.<\/p>\n

He said fertilizer prices could reach $2,000 a ton. He noted that two years ago, during supply disruptions, fertilizer that cost $300 a ton rose to almost $1,000.<\/p>\n

Pruitt said he is buying less fertilizer and accepting crop losses. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re just saying, \u2018hey, we\u2019ll take the crop loss,\u2019\u201d Pruitt said.<\/p>\n

\"GeraldGerald Pruitt, a Mexia farmer told KBTX that cash-crop farmers are also feeling the pinch.(kbtx)<\/p>\n

He said the pressure extends beyond small vegetable farmers.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy friends that grow corn and wheat and soybeans, it\u2019s killing them,\u201d Pruitt said. \u201cIt was tightening everybody\u2019s money belts.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pruitt admitted he may have to cut out a market or two. He and his wife sell fresh produce at The Farmers\u2019 Market in Brazos County<\/a> at Midtown Park.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we go up much higher, we\u2019re probably going to quit,\u201d Pruitt said. \u201cIt\u2019s just that bad now.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Farmers\u2019 Market in Brazos County operates every Saturday at Travis Bryan Midtown Park from 8 a.m. until noon.<\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 KBTX. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"BRYAN, Texas (KBTX) – Farmers across Texas are facing rising fuel and fertilizer costs that are cutting into…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":254208,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[254,2055,2060,2058,2057,2059,2061,27,29,28,2056],"class_list":{"0":"post-254207","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-texas","8":"tag-breaking-news","9":"tag-breaking-news-video","10":"tag-live-speeches","11":"tag-live-updates","12":"tag-live-video","13":"tag-press-conference","14":"tag-real-time-coverage","15":"tag-texas","16":"tag-texas-headlines","17":"tag-texas-news","18":"tag-video-updates"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254207","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=254207"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254207\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/254208"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=254207"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=254207"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=254207"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}