BATON ROUGE — Governor Landry has issued an Executive Order declaring a state of emergency, allowing Louisiana farmers and timber harvesters to use the dyed diesel fuel they already keep on hand. The order comes at the peak of harvest season, with diesel at the highest price ever recorded in this state. EO attached.
“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. We have an opportunity to provide immediate relief, and that’s exactly what we’re doing,” said Gov. Landry.
Background:
Dyed diesel is ordinary diesel fuel dyed red to mark it as off-road fuel. Farmers and loggers buy it for tractors, skidders, and irrigation pumps, and state law has long barred them from burning it in a licensed highway vehicle. This Executive Order suspends the penalty through October 22, 2026 for vehicles registered as Class 2 (Forest Products) or Class 5 (Farm Use) during this time of peak harvesting operations.
The Order also directs the Secretary of the Louisiana Department of Revenue to request federal penalty relief from the IRS by the end of the week.
The diesel shortage driving these high prices is a national issue. U.S. inventories of distillate fuel oil are currently 12.5 percent below the five-year average, contributing to higher domestic diesel prices. At the same time, U.S. net exports of distillate fuel oil remain near five-year highs. In Louisiana, the average retail price of diesel has reached an all-time high of $6.03 per gallon, 112 percent higher than the price the LSU AgCenter used to develop its 2026 crop enterprise budgets.