Farm fuel costs could hit your grocery bill

Catch up quick: The wars in Iran and Ukraine drove up diesel, and much of the world's fertilizer ships through the Strait of Hormuz, so both got more expensive at once.

By the numbers: Grocery prices in the Midwest rose about 1.6% year over year in August, below the national rate of just over 2%.

Zoom in: The Agriculture Business Council of Kansas City warned of higher food prices in March, when diesel first jumped.

• Kansas is the country's top winter wheat producer, and Missouri grew around 600 million bushels of corn last year, both crops that run on the diesel and fertilizer that just got pricier.

Yes, but: Corn and wheat prices are at three-year highs, and higher federal crop payments kick in after Oct. 1 under last year's budget law, which raised the guaranteed minimum prices for major crops by 10% to 21%.

• Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., has also asked Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins in a Sept. 11 letter for temporary relief.

What's next: Rollins says more on diesel relief is coming within weeks, and the Oct. 14 Midwest price report will show whether consumers' costs are increasing.