Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry declares State of Emergency on farm diesel prices

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BATON ROUGE, La. (KLFY) — Gov. Jeff Landry has issued an executive order allowing Louisiana farmers and timber harvesters to use dyed diesel fuel, effective immediately.

The executive order suspends the penalty for using nontaxable, dyed off-road diesel fuel in vehicles registered for “Farm Use” or “Forest Products” while those vehicles are engaged in agricultural and timber harvesting operations. The order remains in effect through Oct. 22.

Dyed diesel fuel is regular diesel that is tinted red (or occasionally blue for government use) to show that it is tax-exempt and meant only for off-road equipment like tractors, generators and construction machinery.

Landry declared a State of Emergency, citing the sharp increase in the price of regular diesel, saying the price is 80% higher than this time last year.

“Louisiana farmers and timber harvesters maintain on-farm and on-site storage of dyed diesel fuel for nontaxable off-road use, and allowing that fuel to be used in highway vehicles engaged in agricultural and timber harvesting operations will make fuel immediately available to those operations,” the declaration read.

American Sugar Cane League General Manager Jim Simon said in a statement that his organization was grateful for the order.

“For Louisiana’s sugarcane farmers, this order could mean over $8 million in savings over the course of the 2026 harvest season,” Simon said. “Every dollar matters when you are trying to get a crop out of the field and to the mill, and we appreciate the Governor stepping up at a critical time for our industry.”

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