LAFAYETTE, La. — As diesel prices climb to new highs across Louisiana, local farmers are feeling the pinch — including fifth-generation sugarcane farmer Eddie Lewis, who says surging costs are cutting into his day-to-day operations.
“Planting season, harvest season, current season, fertilizer season right now — it could be anywhere from 5 to 10,000 gallons a week,” said Lewis.
According to AAA, the average price for diesel in Louisiana has jumped from $3.33 per gallon just a month ago to $5.23 today — an increase of nearly 57 percent. The national average now stands at $5.51 per gallon.
In response, Lewis has doubled down on efficiency, searching for every possible way to cut costs. “We're a lot more concentrated on running more efficient right now and just tightening up the belt buckle a little bit, trimming the fat, and doing things that we can control,” he said.
Lewis noted that rising diesel costs are likely to affect more than just farmers. "At the end of the day, the 2026 crop won't be determined until October, November, December when we send the cane to the mill and it's harvested. We may have a spike in price due to this, you never know," he said, warning that higher costs could eventually make their way down to consumers.
For Louisiana farmers, rising diesel prices are just one more challenge in a long line of unpredictable hurdles, Lewis said. “With a spike in diesel prices, fertilizer prices, it's just like having a hurricane, a drought, excessive moisture — it's just one thing in business that we have to deal with.”
For now, Lewis says he’s determined to focus on what he can control: “That's working in the fields and being more efficient, tightening the belt buckle, and just having a positive outlook and do our job — our job is to grow food for America.”
Industry experts recommend using online tools and smartphone apps such as GasBuddy, AAA’s Fuel Price Finder, and the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s website to help track pump prices and secure the best deal as costs continue to fluctuate.
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