Farmers in Illinois who want to run red dyed diesel on public highways now have a specific paperwork checklist to meet, and the Illinois Farm Bureau says documentation will decide whether the practice holds up under scrutiny.

Rodney Knittel, associate director of transportation and infrastructure with the Illinois Farm Bureau, says additional guidance has been released for growers wanting to use the fuel on the highway. His message is blunt: documentation is key.

The Illinois Department of Revenue has issued a list of required documentation. It includes the license plate number associated with the dyed fuel, among other items growers must keep on hand to prove legitimate use.

Why does this matter for fuel costs?

Red dyed diesel carries no road taxes, which is why regulators police its use so tightly. For farmers, the ability to legally run the fuel in highway situations — rather than draining tanks or switching fuels between field and road work — translates directly into time and administrative savings on operations that already juggle tight margins.

What does this change for growers? In practice, it shifts the compliance burden from ambiguity to recordkeeping. Keep the documentation the Department of Revenue requires, and the fuel use has a defensible paper trail. Skip it, and the tax exposure sits with the operator.

Who issued the guidance?

The Illinois Department of Revenue produced the documentation list. The Illinois Farm Bureau, through Knittel's transportation and infrastructure office, is relaying the requirements to its members so producers know exactly which records to maintain.

Knittel's point to farmers is procedural, not technical. The fuel itself doesn't change. The paperwork around it does.

Growers running dyed diesel in vehicles that touch public roads in Illinois should secure the Department of Revenue's documentation requirements before the next fuel purchase, since enforcement questions will turn on whether records — starting with the license plate tied to the dye — were kept from the outset.