President Donald Trump signed an executive order Oct. 5 allowing the purchase of off-road diesel “by anyone for any reason.” He made the announcement during a campaign rally for Nebraska’s Gov. Jim Pillen and Sen. Pete Ricketts.
“For many years, farm vehicles, construction equipment and other off-road vehicles have used what is known as red dye diesel. Do know what that is?” Trump asked the crowd in Grand Island, Neb. “I don’t know what the hell it is, but whatever it is, it’s supposed to be very good.”
The president asked aide Natalie Harp to bring him the order so he could sign it on stage in front of a cheering crowd. He then looked to Ricketts and Pillen and said his order should “absolutely assure” they will win their upcoming elections.
“I guarantee it,” Trump added.
What’s in executive order?
Trump’s order directs the Treasury secretary, in consultation with the “secretary of War,” to defer federal taxes for on-road use of dyed diesel through the end of the year. It calls on the secretaries for Agriculture and Transportation to take action ensuring dyed diesel is available to farmers.
The White House Office of Governmental Affairs will also encourage states to adopt similar policies.
Following Trump’s announcement, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins issued a statement thanking Trump and Vice President JD Vance for their efforts to lower farm fuel costs.
“Energy dominance is at the core of putting farmers and ranchers first. This administration has unleashed American energy dominance, and we are now the largest energy producer in the world as a result,” Rollins said. “While the administration has structurally changed the energy sector to secure the long-term future of agriculture, we are now taking steps to deal with short-term pressures impacting our American farmers.”
Farmers feeling the pain
Jed Bower’s family has farmed the same southwest Ohio land for five generations. His son, now in college, has expressed interest in carrying on that legacy. But that all could depend on how the farm economy fares.
This year’s corn crop will likely be the most expensive to produce in history. That’s been largely driven by input costs that continue to rise. Chief among those is the skyrocketing cost of diesel. Bower, who also chairs the National Corn Growers Association, said he’s worked to improve efficiencies over the past few years, hoping to find a way to use less diesel. At a certain point, he said, there’s only so much he can do.
“Everything is fueled by diesel fuel. And as we’re looking to move into harvest now, harvesttime uses more fuel than any other time as we move the product out of the field,” Bower said.
Before Trump made his announcement, NCGA was studying potential ways to bring farmers relief from high diesel prices. One idea was suspending taxes on red dye fuel and allowing on-road vehicles to use that. Some lawmakers floated the idea of suspending diesel exports, though that idea appears to have lost momentum.
Bower said easing restrictions on off-road fuel could provide farmers at least some short-term relief, but it won’t solve all the problems related to high diesel prices.
“America runs on diesel fuel with all the trucks and trains and construction equipment. This isn’t solely an ag issue,” Bower said. “This is going to be an issue for every American as this continues to go forward.”
Cutting costs
According to an American Farm Bureau Federation analysis, the average corn farm covers 279 acres and uses about 3.07 gallons of off-road diesel per acre for all harvest-related activities. This means an average-sized corn farm uses 857 gallons of diesel during fall harvest. With diesel prices roughly $2.60 higher per gallon this year, an average corn operation would be expected to pay about $2,220 more for diesel than it did in 2025.
Before Trump’s executive order, the federal government imposed 24.4 cents per gallon in taxes and fees on highway diesel. Many states imposed additional taxes, bringing that number closer to 60 cents per gallon. As of Sept. 30, no fewer than 11 states have suspended restrictions on farm diesel, allowing it to temporarily be used for over-the-road transport.
“Allowing dyed diesel fuel to be used over-the-road will bring welcome relief for farmers because every cent per gallon matters when you’re running a fleet of grain trucks or hauling cattle hundreds of miles,” said AFBF President Zippy Duvall in a statement Oct. 5.