Diesel fuel hit $5.68 a gallon on Tuesday, Sept. 22, at Ruddenklau Farm in Amity, up from $3.30 a year ago, and the 1,000-acre operation is barely breaking even.

Bruce and Helle Ruddenklau, who have farmed in Yamhill and Polk counties for more than 30 years, said the spike is pushing them to rethink what they plant, as first reported by KGW. Over the next two years, they plan to shift away from some seed and grain crops and put more emphasis on hazelnuts.

"When we have to pay more for our inputs, we can't raise the price to get paid more," Helle Ruddenklau said.

The couple sells much of their grass seed, wheat and green beans under contract, locking in prices that cannot adjust when costs climb. Bruce Ruddenklau said crop values have held roughly flat for a decade while input costs keep rising.

The farm is at break-even.

The Ruddenklaus' per-gallon price is lower than the statewide average because farmers use tax-exempt agricultural diesel. That average hit $6.87 on Sept. 22, a new all-time record, according to AAA Oregon/Idaho. Oregon diesel prices set daily records from Sept. 12 through Sept. 20 and again on Sept. 22, surpassing the previous high of $6.47 set on July 3, 2022.

AAA attributed the spike to geopolitical tensions, including friction between the U.S. and Iran, hostilities in the Red Sea, the shutdown of Saudi Arabia's East-West pipeline and Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian refineries. The national average also set a record at $6.53 a gallon.

The Ruddenklaus' hazelnut pivot fits a broader Willamette Valley trend. Oregon hazelnut acreage climbed from 31,000 to about 88,000 over the past seven years, a 180% increase, according to the Oregon Journalism Project. More recent industry data puts the total at roughly 97,000 acres.

Oregon growers harvested a record 120,000 tons in 2025, the first crop to top 100,000 tons, according to West Coast Nut. Guaranteed minimum prices rose about 40% that year to between $1.05 and $1.30 per pound, OPB reported in November 2025. Oregon produces 99.7% of the nation's hazelnuts.

Nearly all of Oregon's hazelnut orchards sit in the Willamette Valley. Polk and Yamhill counties, where the Ruddenklaus farm, are among the top producing counties, according to the Oregon Employment Department. The harvest has averaged more than $120 million a year over the past five years.

Jeff Newton, vice chair of the Oregon Hazelnut Commission and a farmer near Amity, said in December 2025 that the biggest driver of hazelnut expansion is "more consistent bad prices on all other crops."

The Ruddenklaus have not said how many of their 1,000 acres they plan to convert. Helle Ruddenklau, standing near a leased field in Sheridan being planted for canola, said simply that many farmers in the area are struggling.