Governor Tim Walz today issued an executive order providing immediate relief to Minnesota’s agricultural, timber, and other sectors as diesel prices hover around record highs.
Executive Order 26-11 authorizes vehicles transporting agricultural and forest products to exceed regular weight limits by up to 10 percent on state and local highways. By allowing producers and haulers to move more products per trip, the order helps conserve fuel and reduce costs during the critical harvest season.
“Minnesotans are paying the price every time they fill up their tank or buy groceries. While Trump focuses on ballrooms and alienating our allies, Minnesota is left to clean up the damage caused by his reckless war,” said Governor Walz. “We are standing with the farmers, loggers, truckers, and families who feed our communities, power our economy, and keep Minnesota moving.”
The weight-limit relief applies to vehicles transporting corn, soybeans, wheat, potatoes, carrots, sugar beets, and forest products from harvest sites to the first unloading point on state and local highways but does not apply on interstate highways. The order also provides temporary hours-of-service relief for motor carriers and drivers transporting fuel products, including diesel, fuel oil, gasoline, ethanol, and biodiesel, as part of emergency relief efforts. It does not waive requirements governing driver qualifications, commercial driver’s licenses, drug and alcohol testing, or equipment necessary for safe vehicle operation.
Diesel prices have surged above $6.50 per gallon nationally, according to AAA, adding pressure on farmers during a harvest season already plagued by uncertainty caused by Trump’s ongoing trade wars. Minnesota farmers report that approximately 90 percent of the fuel used on their farms goes toward planting, caring for, and harvesting crops, with corn and soybean production requiring roughly eight gallons of fuel per acre and two to three gallons used during harvest alone.
The order follows similar actions by bipartisan governors in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Georgia, Louisiana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Texas, as the Trump administration continues offering excuses instead of solutions to soaring fuel prices.
The executive order is effective immediately and remains in effect until rescinded or October 30, 2026, whichever occurs first. The state continues to evaluate and pursue additional options to support Minnesota’s farmers, loggers, truckers, and fuel haulers.
