With average state diesel prices up a whopping 77% from a year ago, Indiana farmers this week got the green light to use red-dyed, tax-exempt farm diesel on highways.
Governor Mike Braun on Wednesday ordered a suspension on the limits for dyed diesel, typically reserved for off-road use only and dyed red to ensure compliance.
The move allows farmers to use red-dyed diesel to haul corn or soybeans to markets or grain elevators between Oct. 6 through Nov. 4, as growers harvest and transport their crops. The Indiana Soybean Alliance and Indiana Corn Growers Association say they’re worried about what happens after Nov. 4, however, given that harvest is likely to still be underway.
“We welcome the relief during a time when we are already experiencing high input costs. However, we need certainty through the entire harvest season and guidance on transitioning back to regular diesel when the exemption concludes,” farmer David Hardin, chair of the soybean group’s membership and policy committee, says in a statement.
Farm diesel, when bought in bulk, can cost between 60-70 cents less per gallon than standard on-road diesel sold at a station, according to the Indiana ag groups.
Groups including the Iowa Corn Growers Association have also called on the federal government to consider a national waiver allowing farm diesel use on highways during the current harvest season.
Fuel inflation woes
Braun also extended his pause of state gasoline taxes in Indiana.
The average national price of diesel has been edging lower since reaching an all-time high on Sept. 22, yet diesel and gasoline prices remain sharply elevated amid global supply chain woes in the Middle East and elsewhere. The price spikes are hitting just weeks ahead of high-stakes federal, state and local elections on Nov. 3.
At least nine states have taken actions within roughly the last week that are aimed at curbing fuel costs, including Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota and Texas.
Meanwhile, StoneX Group commodities economist Mike Castle says an already squeezed global fuel market is poised to tighten further as Chinese refiners suspend exports for October.
Castle also notes the U.S. has asked EU governments to start releasing diesel reserves to ease supply pressures.
For more news, go to Agri-Pulse.com.
.webp?t=1762183428)
