With planting and growing season around the corner, some Hudson Valley farmers are facing rapidly rising costs of diesel, gasoline, and nitrogen-based fertilizer due to the war with Iran and the closing of the Strait of Hormuz.
They say, so far, they will roll with the punches.
Iran declared the strait closed on March 4, after United States and Israeli military operations in Iran in February. The narrow sea lane separating Iran and the Arabian peninsula accounted for the passage of an average 20 million barrels of oil daily to world markets in 2024, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). This includes some U.S. imports from the region that are later refined into gasoline and diesel. The closure disrupted the flow of crude oil and nitrogen-based fertilizers across continents, ratcheting up prices.
A two-week ceasefire announced on Tuesday, April 7, eased global prices somewhat, but the outlook remains cloudy pending further negotiations between the U.S. and Iran scheduled to begin this weekend. “Even if the straight were completely open tomorrow and everything went to quote-unquote normal again, that doesn’t mean that you’re gonna see prices immediately fall,” said Amanda Powers of the New York Farm Bureau, a non-governmental organization that works on issues and policies relating to the agriculture industry. “It takes a long time.”
Jim Davenport, owner of Tollgate Dairy farm in Ancramdale, brought out his old invoices to compare his costs with 2025’s sowing season. He paid $4.22 for a gallon of diesel in March after paying $2.75 in March 2025. He spent $11,250 to spread 212 pounds of fertilizer this season compared to $7,600 a year ago.
Davenport, who grows 110 acres of grass and 60 acres of corn for cattle feed, tends to do several grass cuttings every season, adding fertilizer each time. He said he plans to pull back a little on the fertilizer after the first cutting.
“There’s not a lot of margin in any farming,” said Davenport, “Larger, well-run farms can make money pretty well but smaller farmers, you’ve just gotta roll with the punches. There really isn’t anything you can do, except try to just do a really good job of controlling what costs you can control.”
Many local farmers are doing just that. Stuart Farr, owner of Hudson Valley Hops and Grains Farm in Ancram, uses natural fertilizer to produce 400 to 500 tons of grain every season. The spike in synthetic fertilizer prices hasn’t affected him at all. He did notice the higher prices of diesel, however, for his trucks and tractors.
“It’s annoying, but it’s not going to be the difference between success and failure,” he said. “It’s just one of those things that you’d rather didn’t happen.”.
Debra Kaye, owner of Bear Creek Flower Farm in Stanfordville, also uses natural fertilizer. Blooming season hasn’t begun just yet, but Kaye is keeping a close eye on the pump. Being a comparatively small farm of 12 acres, she said the diesel prices won’t make as much of a dent as the cost of delivery across the tri-state area. “The high gas prices are going to decrease the bottom line,” she said, “Nobody’s going to want to pay more for flowers.”
“Farming is a risky business. You have to be able to roll with the punches,” said Kaye.
Smaller-scale farms growing organic fruits and vegetables are in a similar spot to Kaye. The work at Sisters Hill Farm in Stanfordville is more labor intensive, and less reliant on fuels compared to the mechanized methods of producing grains, corn, and soy, according to director David Hambleton. Those farmers, as well as dairy producers, Hambleton said, are most affected by rising fuel and fertilizer prices.
This includes dairy farmers like Davenport. “The price of milk is lower than it was last year, so do the math. Not helpful,” he said.
Another long-time dairy farmer, Rick Osofsky of the family-run Ronnybrook Farm in Ancramdale, said, “For farmers, it’s part of their DNA. We do it because we love it, and we do it until we can’t do it anymore. Rising prices, falling milk prices — to farmers, this is part of the landscape.”
Fred Battenfeld, owner of Battenfeld Farm, said that although his diesel consumption is not much, his cost of running the farm’s flower greenhouse has gone up significantly due to the spike in price of “number 2” fuel oil, which is used for indoor heating.
“One of the most difficult things we deal with on a daily basis is the uncertainty,” said Powers of Farm Bureau, “It’s so hard to plan for your season and it’s terrible timing, of course, because we’re looking at planting season right now. There isn’t much the state can do about this right now, we just have to take the lead of the federal government and see what they do.”
We are Americans and will survive. What did we ever do to farm when we could not buy fertilizer? Dairy farmers are almost extinct now because milk is not priced properly. Just look at the dairy farms that used to be in the area that sold out over the last 40 years! Hopefully, the fuel oil issue will subside and all will be well for the growing season as it is not quite here yet! Unfortunately, this war was imminent and necessary or perhaps we would not be here to enjoy our freedoms.