Gov. Pillen announces 90-day pause on diesel taxes for Nebraska ag producers

LINCOLN — Gov. Jim Pillen signed a pair of executive orders Thursday aimed at easing cost burdens for Nebraska’s agricultural producers on the same day a like-minded initiative was announced for the 2028 election cycle.

The first executive order suspends diesel taxes for vehicles transporting Nebraska seasonally produced products or livestock for the next 90 days, effective immediately. Pillen said Nebraska ag workers can keep track of their fuel receipts and get refunds on their diesel taxes during this period.

According to a press release, the same executive order also allows highway-registered vehicles to hold, sell or use untaxed, dyed diesel fuel without facing state penalties.

The second executive order raises weight limits for vehicles transporting seasonal products and livestock, increasing the maximum up to 25% over the current limits without requiring extra permits or fees. Pillen said this will allow Nebraska farmers to fill their trailers as much as they need without worrying about state restrictions.

Pillen said both measures are intended to ease the energy burden on farmers during a period of higher fuel prices and continued impacts of historic wildfires in western Nebraska.

Wahoo farmer Doug Bartek said there is a lot of uncertainty in the state’s agricultural industry right now, primarily due to diesel and fertilizer prices. Though he said the executive orders aren’t a “silver bullet,” they will help.

“It just seems like all the way around, we’re kind of getting hit really hard, so this will come at a really good time,” Bartek said.

Sherry Vinton, director of Nebraska’s Department of Agriculture, repeatedly praised the timeliness of the executive orders at Thursday’s press conference. She said row crop farmers are dealing with “challenging profitability,” due to rising input costs.

Pillen’s executive order came on the same day that a new ballot initiative launched aimed for the 2028 ballot. The measure seeks to amend Nebraska law to establish an annual 61-day window Sept. 1-Oct. 31 suspending all state motor fuel taxes. Additionally, the initiative would cap motor fuel taxes at 35 cents per gallon and restore the full tax exemption on off-road agricultural dyed diesel.

Eric Underwood, who’s leading the charge on the initiative he’s called the “Harvest Fuel Tax Holiday Petition,” said he did not communicate with anyone from Pillen’s office ahead of announcing the initiative.

“My conversations with hundreds of Nebraskans over the last six months really became the spearhead for the policy amendment,” Underwood said.

Underwood leads the group Advocates for all Nebraskans, which attempted a citizen petition effort earlier this year to mandate employment of at least 450 police officers in Lincoln — an effort that did not make the 2026 ballot. The latest petition is under a new group: Make Nebraska Even Better.

In addition to his executive orders, Pillen announced that he was sending a letter to President Donald Trump expressing concerns about the Iran war’s impact on rising diesel prices. In the letter, Pillen asks Trump to enact a 90-day pause on diesel exports to foreign countries. He said the suspension would allow U.S. diesel reserves to rebuild and lower costs for American consumers.

“America’s farmers will thank you for putting them first as we work through these market disruptions in American families and see the effects of these lower prices in the grocery store,” Pillen read from the letter.