In Bedford County, farms dig deep for fuel.

Byline: Caitlin Cleary

Oct. 16--BEDFORD, Pa. -- The summer's drought having parched Fred Claycomb's corn and soybean crops down to half their normal yield, his diesel-powered combine now cuts through the thinned-out fields, quickly and efficiently.

Given the abuse nature has inflicted on his crops, however, this newfound fuel economy is cold comfort to the Bedford County farmer, who markets his corn to other local farmers to feed their cattle. And given the steep cost of diesel fuel these days, it is little help to Mr. Claycomb's bottom line.

Fuel is one of the largest expenses for farmers. It powers their tractors and combines during spring planting and fall harvest. The current price of diesel is about 80 percent higher than it was last fall, said Mr. Claycomb, who leases 500 acres of farmland.

When Hurricane Katrina damaged oil refineries along the Gulf Coast in August, then-high gasoline and diesel prices spiked even higher. In rural Bedford County, located at the crossroads of the PA Turnpike, the Lincoln Highway (U.S. 30) and Interstate 99, the economy depends on transportation and agriculture, both heavily fuel-dependent industries.

The ripple effects have found their way into every bushel of corn threshed by Mr. Claycomb's combine, every load of apples trucked out of Dan Boyer's Ridgetop Orchards and every school bus that carries children from the remote hollows of the 224-square-mile Chestnut Ridge School District. The sharp…