Oklahoma Farmers Hit Hard By Rising Fuel & Fertilizer Costs

The higher fuel prices are causing pain for a lot of people, including Oklahoma farmers. Some of them say their profit margin is at an all-time low.

"Everything is going up in cost," said Ben Neal.

Oklahoma farmers said inflation and rising oil costs are making an impact on the food chain.

"Diesel for the tractor. The deliveries. Insurance costs are going up. Water. Electricity. Everything is costing more," said Neal.

Ben Neal, of LocalFarmsOK, grows produce and delivers directly to customers. He said the increase of fuel prices is making it hard to just keep up.

"We had to raise our prices about 10 percent a couple weeks ago just to be able to keep up," said Neal.

Neal said he had to hold off on planting some crops in his greenhouse because of rising energy costs.

"Yesterday, I got my February natural gas bill, it was the highest gas bill I've ever had. It was almost $4,000 for one month," said Neal.

Charlie Coblentz is a dairy farmer. He fears these prices could stick around for a while.

"At this point there's no end in sight," Charlie Coblentz.

He also needs fertilizer. He said the prices just keep going up.

"Just tell me the fertilizer price is going to be high -- don't raise it 10-percent Monday and 10-percent Tuesday," said Coblentz.

He said he's not making any extra money. At this point, he's just trying to pay the bills.

"There's not going to be any money made. There's probably be less money made in '22 than '21, because of every input costing more," said Coblentz.