SHELBY COUNTY, Ill. (WAND)- Farmers are one of many groups adjusting to rising diesel prices.
Shelby County farmer Elliott Uphoff says their work is reliant on fuel.
“Everything around here uses fuel. From the tractors, to our daily drivers that go check fields, sprayers, combines, basically everything,” he said.
Just one of his farming combines holds up to 300 gallons of fuel.
He estimates that they use 10 to 20 gallons of diesel per acre of land.
When gas prices rose, Uphoff Farms purchased the fuel they would need for the season.
“When prices were really shooting up, we went ahead and filled up all of our tanks to make sure we have almost what we need,” he said.
Due in large part to their proactiveness, Uphoff says they are not currently facing financial strains due to fuel prices.
But regardless, Uphoff says they will still be doing what they can to stretch fuel this September while harvesting.
They can burn up to 300 gallons of fuel a day while harvesting.
“This fall, we are not planning on doing much tillage either. We’re going to try to avoid extra passes across the field if we can,” he said.
He suggests that any farmers struggling with high gas prices look into the Illinois soybean biodiesel tax incentive.
Uphoff, a member of the Illinois Soybean Association, says farmers can save up to 30 cents per gallon by switching to the soybean oil-based alternative fuel source.
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