Minnesota Extends Harvest Emergency Order: Farm Trucks May Exceed Weight Limits by 10 Percent, Fuel Haulers Get Hours Relief
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz's Executive Order 26-12 took effect on October 30, extending the harvest emergency relief first issued in Executive Order 26-11 on October 1, as diesel prices in Minnesota remain above $6 per gallon. The order allows vehicles transporting agricultural and forest products to exceed weight limits by up to 10 percent on state and local highways.
The order extends statutory harvest overweight permits — previously limited to potatoes, sugar beets and carrots — to corn, soybeans and wheat, and grants temporary hours-of-service relief to motor carriers hauling fuel products including gasoline, ethanol, biodiesel and fuel oil, as well as harvest products. The relief excludes interstate highways and forest roads, and drivers need no updated cab card or new fees, operating under the Minnesota Department of Transportation's special harvest permit.
The governor's office said the emergency measures are intended to cut cost and delay for farmers and carriers moving crops and fuel to market while harvest season overlaps with high diesel prices. The order remains in effect until rescinded or until November 29, 2026.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 玉米收获作业（资料图）。公共领域，USDAgov摄，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Corn harvest underway (file photo). Public domain, by USDAgov, via Wikimedia Commons.
