NEW CITY, April 12 -- An hour's drive north of New York City, the greenhouses at Cropsey Farm are seeing their first leaves of kale, spinach and arugula emerge. But the farmer who runs the outfit is obsessed with something else: the soaring price of fuel.

Every year, Sue Ferreri typically allows a 10 per cent "buffer" for production budgeting, "but it's well above that now.We're looking at 20, 25 per cent, and it's mainly due to the diesel cost," she told AFP.

Fuel prices have jumped after the US-Israeli attack on Iran on February 28, which led to a blockage of shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, a key conduit of oil and fertilizer.

Earlier this week, a gallon (3.8 litres) of diesel - the fuel most used on the farm located in New City - ...