AUBURN - The wave of high gas prices crashing pumps is making ripples that extend well beyond city borders.

For the past few years, farmers have struggled with the high cost as well in an industry that already demands tight budgets. Last week at the city's farmers market between South Street and Loop Road on Genesee Street, vendors had plenty of thoughts on and approaches to the gas problem troubling many.

“It takes gas to run the tractors, gas to run the greenhouse,” Skaneateles farmer Vaughn Anna said. “People don't realize it, but it does.”

In fact, costs have essentially doubled for Anna's Rose Hill, yet the prices people are willing to pay for produce stays fairly constant. Anna and others gathered along Genesee Street were selling strawberries for $4.

If gas were truly factored in, those prices would be closer to $6, Anna said.

“We're eating a lot of it,” he said, referring to the price, not the produce. “The key is to stay small.”

Anna travels to more markets now to help make up for losses at the home stands in Skaneateles and Moravia. In addition to fruits and vegetables, Anna also deals flowers.

Diversification has been an important part of staying afloat for Shawnna Hewitt, who runs a farmers market stand for her Owasco family. Her table now includes baked goods, jams and towels to complement Hewitt home-growns.

The family is employing new strategies at the farm as well in an attempt to cut down on propane used to heat the greenhouse.

“My dad hooked up a wood furnace to take place of some of that,” Hewitt said.

Market manager Millie Bednarski said fewer vendors are making the trip to Auburn this summer.

“This is $75 to fill,” Bob Horsford of Brutus said, motioning toward his customized Ford F-150.

He quit the construction business to get back to his agricultural roots with Horsford Farms a few years ago.

“It's a crapshoot,” he said. “You just load up the truck and hope for the best.”

It takes fuel to run tractors and irrigation systems too, a pair of factors that have forced some, like Bednarski, to cut back on production.

“A lot of farmers cut down on how much they're going to plant,” the Cato farmer said. “There are a lot of small things to consider.”

Even berries get smaller with irrigation systems running less, Bednarski said.

However, market regulars are sticking with what they love and are unable to forecast a breaking point. “This is what I like to do,” Horsford said. “I like to grow and sell. I like to see a happy, satisfied customer.”

Staff writer Shane Liebler can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 248 or shane.liebler@lee.net

Efficiency tips ...

€ Drive sensibly: Aggressive driving practices like speeding and frequent braking wastes gas. Fuel Economy Benefit: 5 to 33 percent, $0.16 to $1.06 per gallon

€ Observe the speed limit: Speeds over 60 mph rapidly decrease mileage. Think of each 5 mph over the speed limit as paying an additional 20 cents per gallon. Fuel Economy Benefit: 7 to 23 percent, $0.23 to $0.74 per gallon

€ Remove excess weight: Each 100 pounds reduces mileage by about 2 percent. Fuel Economy Benefit: 1 to 2 percent per 100 pounds, $0.03 to $0.06 per gallon

€ Avoid idling

€ Use cruise control and overdrive gear when available

€ Keep your car tuned: fixing a car that has failed an emissions test can particularly help improve mileage. Fuel Economy Benefit: 4 percent, $0.13 per gallon

€ Check and replace air filters regularly: Cleaner engines get better mileage. Fuel Economy Benefit: Up to 10 percent, up to $0.32 per gallon

€ Keep tires properly inflated: Inflate to recommended pounds per square inch (PSI)

Fuel Economy Benefit: up to 3 percent, up to $0.10 per gallon

€ Use recommended grade of motor oil. Fuel Economy Benefit: 1 to 2 percent, $0.03 to $0.06 per gallon

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Energy, estimates based on price of $3.22 per gallon