Diesel Relief Comes at a Critical Time for Farmers

Harvest should be a time when farmers see the fruits of their hard work after months of planting and tending crops and watching the weather. But this fall, high fuel costs are leaving farmers with less to show for this season’s work.

Diesel prices have climbed sharply compared with a year ago. This comes at a particularly difficult time for farm families who are already struggling to make the numbers work. That is why Farm Bureau recently sent a letter to President Trump urging immediate action to address fuel costs. This week, the president signed an executive order to ease limits on the use of tax-exempt dyed diesel fuel. We are grateful that President Trump listened to farmers and is taking steps to provide relief, including working with the G7 nations to release petroleum products from their strategic reserves.

Higher Diesel Prices Drive Up Harvest Costs

The national average on-highway diesel price has reached $6.2 per gallon, and farm diesel reached a record high in the Corn Belt at $5.63 per gallon. Those increases reach far beyond a single trip to fill the tank. Farmers rely on diesel to run combines and cotton pickers, pull grain carts, haul crops from the field, bale hay, transport livestock and make fall fertilizer applications. That higher price adds thousands of dollars to the harvest diesel bill.

Higher fuel bills follow our products through the food supply chain. It costs more to move crops by truck, train or barge, and more to bring seed, fertilizer and other supplies to the farm. Those added costs leave farm families with even less to show for this year’s harvest.

On the farm, every additional dollar spent on fuel leaves less to pay other bills, repair equipment or put toward the next growing season. Families look carefully at where they can save. But there are only so many adjustments they can make when the work still has to be done.

Executive Order Provides Diesel Relief at Harvest

Disruptions overseas have reduced global fuel supplies and refining capacity, keeping diesel prices high even when crude oil prices ease. Farmers cannot control those disruptions, but the executive order will bring welcome relief at a critical time.

Allowing tax-exempt dyed diesel to be used more broadly on the road will help farmers get their harvest to market, transport livestock and bring supplies to the farm. The federal highway diesel tax is more than 24 cents per gallon. Every cent matters when fuel bills are already stretching farm budgets, so being able to use tax-exempt diesel for more of those trips could make a real difference.

We appreciate President Trump providing diesel tax relief as farmers work to bring in this year’s crop. Farm Bureau will keep working with policymakers to provide solutions for high diesel prices and ensure farm families can afford to plant the next one.