Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : Rat's Nest - Chronicles of Collapse -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Wharf Rat who wrote (283)	6/10/2005 7:59:20 PM
From: Wharf Rat	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 24210

Farm Scene: High Fuel Costs Taking Toll on Harvesters After several seasons of battling rising costs and a widespread drought, many custom crop harvesters are calling it quits amid skyrocketing fuel prices. Between 25 percent and 30 percent of the workers who travel the country harvesting crops for farmers have left the business in the past three years, said Dave Hermesch, a harvester from Cowetta, Okla., and former president of U.S. Custom Harvesters, the industry's trade group. Surviving harvesters -- many running bigger equipment that can cut more acres faster -- are filling the void as Kansas prepares to take in its 2005 winter wheat crop. But high prices for the fuel needed to run their combines, trucks and other equipment have put a damper on what many are expecting to be a fair harvest following years of drought across much of the Midwest. "Fuel cost is a major input to our industry," said Tim Baker, operations manager for Hutchinson-based U.S. Custom Harvesters. "Some guys have been forced to raise their rates, passing (additional costs) along." Rick Farris, a custom cutter based in Edson, said he just got a $2,000 fuel bill for a single stop he made in Oklahoma where he put gas in the empty tanks of his four combines and four trucks. Once harvest gets going in full swing, Farris will put between 500 and 600 gallons of fuel daily into combines he runs 12 hours a day, he said. And that does not include the fuel for trucks that haul the harvested grain to elevators. Fuel costs this harvest season are running a third more than a year ago, Farris said. "We are really caught in the squeeze with these fuel prices," he said. To cope, Farris has eliminated all the driving he can and even bought an old, used minivan to ferry his crew around so he does not have to run the bigger, gas-guzzling vehicles as much. High fuel prices also are driving up the costs of everything else cutters have to buy. The high steel prices have already caused steep jumps in the prices of farm equipment and repair parts, he said. While many cutters are passing some of the additional costs along to farmers with fuel surcharges, the low grain prices make it difficult for farmers to absorb all the increased costs. "There were quite a few harvesters that quit this year," Hermesch said. "For a lot of them it was a last-minute decision. They decided they did not want to fight high fuel prices." Hermesch has been custom cutting for farmers for the last 19 years, following the harvest of wheat and other crops from Texas to Montana. Two years ago, he ran six combines. Last year, tired of all the stress, he cut back to four machines. This past winter, he sold another combine and now plans to run just three this harvest. "I want this thing to get more fun or I will quit, too," Hermesch said. "We are barely making a living out here. If we don't have enjoyment, what the heck do we want to do it for?" On the Net: U.S. Custom Harvesters Inc. By Roxana Hegeman, Associated Press Writer (Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) kare11.com