This week, Gov. Andy Beshear and state Attorney General Russell Coleman signed off on a state of emergency permitting Kentucky farmers and truckers to fill up using untaxed dyed diesel fuel, a type of fuel normally reserved for off-road uses.
Ben Posley, chief farmer with Regeneration Distilling, told WLEX it's welcome news.
"This is the most stressful time of year for our farming families. We're just grateful we're at least going to get some short-term relief," he said.
The announcement came just a day before a high-ranking Trump administration Department of Energy official visited Lexington. Assistant DOE Secretary of Energy Andrey Robinson told WUKY diesel is top of mind in her department.
"We are doing everything in our capacity and bringing everything to the table to lower prices for Americans every day. And our hope is that all of those efforts will be trickling down as reduced prices at the pump, especially for diesel," she said.
The Trump administration has taken similar moves, opening up uses for dyed diesel, which is exempt from a 24-cent-per-gallon federal tax. The president has also been pressuring allies to release emergency reserves.
So far, diesel prices remain at near-record highs, up 70 percent since the start of the U.S.-Iran war.