@washingtonpost: Diesel reached a record $6.53 a gallon, according to AAA’s national average. That’s up about 75 percent from a year ago. As a fourth-generation farmer and the founder and owner of Underwood Farms, Craig Underwood has been hit hard by the high diesel costs. “We use diesel in everything. We use it in our tractors, we use in our booster pumps, we use in our trucks, I mean diesel runs the country really,” said Underwood.