This comes ahead of a peak harvesting season, and President Trump is expected to visit South Carolina on Wednesday. The president’s previous visit to Kansas revealed how agriculture is taking a hit across the nation.
PENDLETON, S.C. —
Frustration is cropping up, and faith in affordable fuel is fleeting among farmers ahead of a peak season for harvesting goods.
Soybeans are one of South Carolina’s top goods, producing $219 million in annual production value and bolstering a portion of the billions of bushels harvested across the nation, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The crop is versatile, creating its own version of fuel for animals, people and products.
Ahead of the harvesting season, soybean producers are pleading for policies or legislative action to relieve pain at the pump. Gov. Henry McMaster was urged to declare a state of emergency for diesel fuel supply and prices, similar to action taken in Louisiana.
WYFF News 4 reached out to the governor’s office for comment.
Diesel fuel is averaging $5.81 per gallon in South Carolina, according to AAA.
“Some of these tractors can hold up to 100 gallons of fuel,” Dr. Matthew Fischer, an agriculture economist at Clemson Extension, said. “When we get the harvest in, those prices were higher than what we plan; the farmer takes the hit on that margin.”
Running the heavy machinery on-site to gather soybeans is one expensive peg adding to the costly process required to get the fruitful harvest from the ground to its destinations.
“You’ve got producers. You’ve got the distribution. You’ve got transportation, you’ve got processors. You’ve got all these things in line. And they all require transportation. All of that requires diesel fuel,” Fischer said. “They’re really between a rock and a hard place where they’re really not able to control much of these input costs where we’re seeing them go. And they certainly have; they really can’t control much of their marketing price.”
President Donald Trump’s visits to Kansas and similar states where agriculture is taking a hit are shedding light on the frustrations from farmers across the nation.
The president is expected to visit South Carolina on Wednesday.