The surging prices of war-restricted fuel and fertilizer shipments through the Strait of Hormuz and Red Sea are expected to cost Arkansas farmers more than $343 million this year — and that’s conservative, according to an analysis from the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture
Urea prices, which spiked with the shuttering of the Strait of Hormuz, are on the decline, but that break comes too late for some farmers
The higher year-over-year inflation rate was expected, but at more than double the Federal Reserve’s target rate of 2%, the new numbers dimmed hopes for a cut in the interest rate
Weighed down by low commodity prices, heavy fuel and fertilizer outlays and the costs of war, disease and weather, Arkansas’ net farm income is expected to fall for the fourth straight year, with farmers enduring on government support
Americans saw prices at the pump sharply rise in recent days as the nationwide average cost for a gallon of regular gas shot up 38 cents over the past week
Spikes in energy prices caused by the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran drove up inflation for Americans in March, according to the latest consumer price index figures released Friday
The war that began in February when the United States and Israel struck Iran has led to rising gas and fertilizer prices, effects that could hit close to home for voters in Arkansas’ U.S. Senate race this fall
