(The Center Square) – Louisiana farmers and timber harvesters can temporarily use dyed off-road diesel in certain highway vehicles under a state of emergency declared by Gov. Jeff Landry as diesel prices remain near a record high during harvest season.

The executive order took effect Wednesday and remains in effect through Oct. 22. It declares the shortage of distillate fuel supply a statewide emergency and also activates Louisiana’s price-gouging laws on excessive pricing during the emergency.

The order suspends state restrictions and penalties for using dyed diesel in highway vehicles registered as Class 2 forest products vehicles such as log trucks or Class 5 farm-use vehicles like grain trucks, livestock trailers or milk tankers.

Louisiana law ordinarily subjects someone using dyed diesel in a highway vehicle to a penalty of $10 per gallon or $1,000, whichever is greater.

“We’re not going to sit on the sidelines while Louisiana farmers are paying record prices to harvest the crops that feed our families and support our economy,” Landry said. “We have an opportunity to provide immediate relief, and that’s exactly what we’re doing.”

Dyed diesel is ordinary diesel marked for nontaxable off-road use. Farmers and timber operators commonly use it in equipment such as tractors, skidders and irrigation pumps, but state law generally prohibits its use in licensed highway vehicles.

Federal penalty relief is not included in the state suspension. The order directs the Louisiana Department of Revenue secretary to request dyed-diesel penalty relief from the IRS within three business days of the order’s effective date.

AAA listed Louisiana’s average diesel price at $6.02 per gallon Wednesday. The state’s record average was $6.03, set Monday. A year ago, diesel averaged $3.30 per gallon in Louisiana.

The executive order says LSU AgCenter’s 2026 crop enterprise budgets were developed using an assumed diesel price of $2.85 per gallon, less than half the current price. Sugarcane, rice and soybean harvests are underway, a period when the order says agricultural diesel consumption reaches its highest annual rate.

Farmers are also facing sharply higher fuel costs even as prices for major crops have improved. An LSU AgCenter video report released Tuesday said fuel costs have risen 60% since March, while prices for corn, cotton, soybeans and rice have increased nearly 20% since January.

LSU AgCenter economist Michael Deliberto said higher commodity prices have helped Louisiana farmers but have not been enough to offset rising production costs.

“Higher commodity prices are good,” Deliberto said, “but it doesn’t go enough to alleviate where these input costs have gone.”

The fuel increase is hitting during a harvest season covering nearly 2 million acres of three of Louisiana’s major crops. U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates 1.02 million acres of soybeans, 540,000 acres of sugarcane and 394,000 acres of rice will be harvested in Louisiana in 2026.

The economic exposure extends to the timber industry. LSU AgCenter estimated Louisiana agriculture had a total economic value of nearly $12.96 billion in 2025, including $3.48 billion from forestry. Sugarcane accounted for $1.51 billion, rice $618.53 million and soybeans $518.04 million.

National fuel data show U.S. distillate exports reached 1.94 million barrels per day for the week ending Aug. 7, the highest weekly level in U.S. Energy Information Administration data dating to 2010. Exports remained above 1.7 million barrels per day in several subsequent weeks.

By Sept. 11, U.S. distillate inventories stood at 107.9 million barrels with 29.9 days of supply. Landry’s order says both measures were the lowest EIA had recorded for that week of the year.