{"id":383341,"date":"2026-07-23T03:19:18","date_gmt":"2026-07-23T03:19:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/383341\/"},"modified":"2026-07-23T03:19:18","modified_gmt":"2026-07-23T03:19:18","slug":"east-texas-farmers-using-less-fertilizer-as-prices-climb","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/383341\/","title":{"rendered":"East Texas farmers using less fertilizer as prices climb"},"content":{"rendered":"

TYLER, Texas (KETK<\/a>) \u2014 High diesel fuel prices are having a major impact on East Texas farmers and ranchers who say they are using less fertilizer to cut down on costs.<\/p>\n

\u00a0East Texas gas prices surge amid U.S.-Iran conflict\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

It’s been five months since the start of the conflict with Iran, which triggered an almost immediate increase in fuel prices. Since then, those in the East Texas agriculture industry said conditions have not improved. Darren Rozell owner of Rozell Sprayer Manufacturing in Tyler said some of his customers are having to cut down on the supplies they need.<\/p>\n

“We’re seeing people just not putting as much out instead of putting 400 pounds per acre, they can’t afford it and it doesn’t pencil out, they are running 200 pounds per acre,” Rozell said.<\/p>\n

Other people in the business are turning to alternative methods just to stay afloat.<\/p>\n

“There’s a lot of people looking at different avenues instead of just putting out the traditional fertilizer they’re looking at foliar feeds,” Rozell said.<\/p>\n

Similar stories can be heard across the Lone Star State with Texas Farm Bureau Director of Communications Gary Joiner saying high diesel fuel prices impact the shipping costs of farming supplies and turn day-to-day operations into a major expense.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Republicans in Congress continue to back Iran war despite the political risk\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

“In some cases, the diesel needed for that combine has to roll and they’re spending upwards of 2,000 dollars a day to harvest that crop,” Joiner said.<\/p>\n

If prices continue to rise, some farmers and ranchers will be lucky if they break even.<\/p>\n

“Cost of production that in many cases are higher than what they will receive for the value of their crop,” Joiner said.<\/p>\n

For now, Rozell hopes his fellow ranchers can hang in there.<\/p>\n

“It’s going to take time and it’s going to have to get better,” Rozell said.<\/p>\n

You can now stream KETK and FOX51 News live 24\/7 on your smart TV\u00a0with KETK+<\/a>,\u00a0our brand-new app! No antenna, cable, or satellite needed\u2014watch for free, anytime.\u00a0Just download it on your Roku, Apple TV, or Fire TV and start streaming.<\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.<\/p>\n

\u00a0For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KETK.com | FOX51.com.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"TYLER, Texas (KETK) \u2014 High diesel fuel prices are having a major impact on East Texas farmers and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":383342,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[135254,135251,135253,84615,2608,135250,27,41149,29,28,135252,9011],"class_list":["post-383341","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-texas","tag-communications-gary-joiner","tag-darren-rozell","tag-farmers-and-ranchers","tag-fuel-prices","tag-ketk","tag-rozell-sprayer-manufacturing","tag-texas","tag-texas-farm-bureau","tag-texas-headlines","tag-texas-news","tag-traditional-fertilizer","tag-tyler"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/383341","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=383341"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/383341\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/383342"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=383341"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=383341"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=383341"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}