Diesel prices are at record highs.

Many U.S. farmers need fuel now.

They need it for combines and tractors.

They are harvesting soybeans and corn.

These are two of the nation's biggest crops.

This adds to a hard year.

Costs are higher for fertilizer, seeds and equipment.

Diesel hit a record U.S. price on Sept. 4.

It averaged $5.85 a gallon for the first time.

The six-month war with Iran had disrupted the world's fuel flow.

By Friday, the average had risen to $6.05 a gallon.

This is according to AAA.

Prices are now 60% higher than before the war.

The U.S. and Israel launched the war in late February.

Then the average was about $3.76.

Paul Mitchell is a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

He said the prices hurt.

He said the cost affects harvesting.

It also affects hauling grain and silage.

Farmers haul from fields to farms.

Then they haul to buyers.

Jason Kurtz is a corn and soybean farmer.

He is near Forest City, Missouri.

He said he was paying twice as much for diesel this year.

His combine uses 200 gallons a day.

He expected to run it for 30 days.

Kurtz is 49.

He said he still had to run the machines.

He had to use the diesel.

So it cuts into his bottom line.

He said his finances were already tight.

He had paid more for fertilizer and chemicals.

Kurtz voted for President Donald Trump.

He said he planned to delay some farm work.

He hoped diesel prices would fall.

Mitchell said cash-strapped farms struggle most.

They struggle to decide what to cut.