The price of a barrel of oil has soared from $11 US in 1999 to a record breaking $95.
Farmers feel the pain in their pocketbooks as the cost of energy inputs increases.
The theory of peak oil contends that energy costs will continue to escalate.
It postulates that the half of the world’s oil reserves that were easy and cheap to extract have been or soon will be used up.
There is still lots of oil, but to get it requires drilling in more difficult areas and the use of expensive technology, such as in the Alberta tar sands.
Natural gas reserves, critical to nitrogen fertilizer production, face a similar future.
The challenge is compounded by the growing demand for oil and gas, especially in China and India.
Western Producer Brandon reporter Daniel Winters explored the concept of peak oil and found it has wide ranging significance for agriculture, including the growth of the biofuel industry.
This report limits itself to the implications for input costs and how that might change the way you farm.
