REPORT. We hope that things will improve: The consequences of war in the Middle East are coming.

The rise in the price of fertilizers and diesel due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz is having very tangible repercussions on the daily lives of American farmers, especially in the state of Georgia.

According to a survey by the American Farm Bureau, 78% of farmers in the southern United States say they will not be able to afford all the fertilizers they need this season due to the rise in prices related to the war in the Middle East. And this price increase also affects fuel.

In northeast Georgia, 120 kilometers from Atlanta, Matthew London, a sixth-generation farmer, is being cautious. A tanker truck has just passed through this family farm in the town of Cleveland. The fuel delivery driver was surprised: “He told me, ‘You only ordered 1,000 gallons’ (about 3,700 liters) and I replied, ‘Yes, we’re just trying to get by, because we hope things will improve’,” London explains. In reality, he estimates that he should be using 1,500 to 2,000 gallons in this time of year.

Matthew London hopes that diesel prices will drop. “These 1,000 gallons of fuel, it’s $4.40 a gallon today. In winter, it was around $2.40, $2.50 a gallon,” he details. “If you do the math, that’s about $2,000 more for this single delivery,” the farmer laments. However, he emphasizes, “Those who are really suffering right now, in my opinion, are the grain farmers who sell their crops, corn, and soybeans,” he affirms.

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