Farmers may be dealing with elevated diesel prices well into next year. Kansas State University farm management specialist Gregg Ibendahl says high crude oil prices, limited refining capacity and disruptions to global fuel supplies continue putting pressure on diesel. He says prices in the six-to-seven-dollar-per-gallon range could persist if international conflicts continue disrupting energy markets.

Ibendahl says the quickest path to lower prices would be a reduction in global tensions and a return to more normal fuel shipments. But even under a best-case scenario, he says it could take several months for markets to adjust. And a return to the lower fuel prices farmers were paying before the recent disruptions could take much longer. That means diesel is likely to remain a significant production-cost concern heading into the 2027 crop year.

By: NATHAN STUEDLEFarmers may be dealing with elevated diesel prices well into next year. Kansas State University farm management specialist Gregg Ibendahl says high crude oil prices, limited refining capacity and disruptions to global fuel supplies continue putting pressure on diesel. He says prices in the six-to-seven-dollar-per-gallon range could persist if international conflicts continue disrupting energy markets.Ibendahl says the quickest path to lower prices would be a reduction in global tensions and a return to more normal fuel shipments. But even under a best-case scenario, he says it could take several months for markets to adjust. And a return to the lower fuel prices farmers were paying before the recent disruptions could take much longer. That means diesel is likely to remain a significant production-cost concern heading into the 2027 crop year.

High diesel prices could persist into 2027