Diesel prices have surged just as harvest season gets underway, adding thousands of dollars to fuel bills for some U.S. farmers — and Ohio producers are feeling the pinch. According to AGDAILY, several states are moving to offer farmers temporary relief from high diesel costs as the American Farm Bureau Federation presses the Trump administration for federal action.
The squeeze extends beyond the farm gate. In Swanton, Ohio, landscaper James Gleason said the steady rise in fuel prices over the past year has eaten into his business. Gleason started G6 Landscaping six years ago. “We’re definitely seeing a financial pinch,” he told WTVG. “It’s just really taking from our profits.”
Relief may be on the way at the pump in Ohio. A 90-day suspension of the state’s motor fuel taxes — 38.5 cents per gallon on gasoline and 47 cents on diesel — takes effect Sunday after lawmakers passed the measure and Gov. Mike DeWine signed it into law. Analysts say it could take a few more days for the savings to show up at stations.
With harvest in full swing and fuel among the biggest variable costs in row-crop production, farm groups say the coming weeks will test already thin margins. The Farm Bureau is urging Washington to act on broader fuel-cost relief as the season progresses.
