I mentioned yesterday that Governor Larry Rhoden’s order lifting weight limits for farm trucks by 10% will only damage South Dakota’s roads. Orland farmer Charlie Johnson shares my concern that Rhoden is sacrificing infrastructure for a cheap reëlection ploy:
Governor Rhoden today issued an executive order that trucks hauling grain during upcoming harvest can be 10 % over road weight limits. As a farmer myself I have to speak out against this move. In the vane [sic] attempt to haul more grain with fewer trips in order to save on expensive diesel, we blindly putting at risk the $ millions if not billions in road infrastructure in order to do what? Win votes in the days before the general election? To not fully appreciate that farmers overwhelmingly voted Trump three times. Thus $6 diesel is not cause for voting blindly and us poor farmers are innocent bystanders? It’s time for farmers to fully take on the medicine of voting for the wrong person. Last minute election tactics are not warranted [Charles Joseph Johnson, FB, 2026.09.28].
South Dakota Farmers Union president Doug Sombke says the Governor’s order won’t make up for all the money farmers are losing filling up on Trump-flated diesel:
Most trucks hold about 250 gallons of fuel, but some can hold more, Sombke said. Filling up an empty tank at the state’s $6 average per-gallon diesel price, he said, won’t be counteracted by pausing a $25 permit on overweight hauls.
“Not even close,” he said [Meghan O’Brien, “South Dakota Governor’s Response to Diesel Prices May Not Help Producers, Ag Leader Says,” South Dakota Searchlight, 2026.09.29].
Sombke says Rhoden should follow the example of hog-farming Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen, who paired a 25% increase in weight limits on the corporate pork trucks his illegal-alien employees drive for him with a 90-day suspension of tax on diesel for farm vehicles. But suspending fuel tax only leaves us with less money to repair the roads that heavy harvesters already pulverize.
As Charlie Johnson says, the best policy route may be to just let farmers reap what they’ve sown: y’all voted for Trump, and Trump raised your fuel prices, so tough shiskey.
Rhoden crashing to the center during an election year? What a shocker! Producers operating heavy equipment, much of it unlicensed or exempt, contribute disproportionately to the degradation of public roadways and bridges; yet, most farmers seem to believe they already pay their fair share through property taxes and other means. Assess welfare farmers and pass a wheel tax to pay for infrastructure improvements long-neglected by the state’s Republican administrations.
More weight means more diesel usage per load. Physics.
At least, starting today, big trucks won’t be able to drive down N. M. 16 and wreck your driveway, eh Lar?
They voted for Trump to hurt others. Now Trump is hurting them. It was THEIR vote that cast this lot.
Maybe next time look for a candidate looking to help others. That seem like a person willing to help you too.
The state should just give out those spiked whips. They would work well. Byron Noem would know the cheapest order.
Rhoden has accomplished nothing during his tenure. After Noem, nothing seemed calm, rational, and inexpensive. However now, 2 years of nothing looks just plain lazy. Why is he in office?
I’m not at all surprised he’s handing out favors, that aren’t really favors.
What’s next?