Empty Pumps And Struggling Farmers: Photo Of The Day

CALIFORNIA — On Sunday, the Speedway on College Avenue, pictured here, was selling only 87 octane, while the Healdsburg Gas Mart taped "Out of Order" signs on pumps, limiting supplies to premium gas.

During a fuel crisis, independent distributors stand in line behind branded stations. Alternatives dwindle.

In the case of the Gas Mart, a late delivery was to blame for the shortage, the operator said. The same may be true for the Speedway, if the station receives gas from the same distributor. Either way, the signs were unsettling.

Warnings of a shortage have been circulating, mainly based on somewhat misinterpreted testimony by the head of the California Energy Commission.

Farmers are markets are one of places besides the pump where the costs become real. As fuel costs surge past $6–$7 a gallon, margins for local farmers, ranchers, and vendors already hit by tariffs and input costs are tightening.

Farmers market vendors driving between Sonoma County, Marin, and the East Bay still absorb every increase at the pump immediately. Some of them in this article published today describe the hidden costs in alternative, community-supported agriculture.