AGCO Gleaner S77 Combine. (AGCO photo)

In a letter this week to House Agriculture Committee Ranking Member Collin Peterson (D-Minn.) and member Randy Neugebauer (R-Texas), ASA joined other farm groups in thanking the congressmen for their leadership in introducing a bill that would reduce the regulatory burdens for farmers and custom harvesters by exempting certain class A Commercial Drivers License (CDL) holders from the requirement of obtaining a Hazardous Material (HM) endorsement while transporting more than 118 gallons of diesel fuel.

"Current federal law makes it very difficult for farmers and custom harvesters to transport the amount of fuel necessary for a single day of field operations with today’s agricultural equipment," wrote the groups in the letter. "Class A CDL holders cannot haul more than 118 gallons of diesel fuel without an HM endorsement, which can be costly and time-consuming to obtain."

"Some of today’s farm equipment, such as large combines and cotton pickers, have fuel tank capacities of 250 gallons or more. Restricting a farmer or harvester to hauling only 118 gallons at a time forces them to make multiple trips to refuel. This is a waste of valuable time and money during the busiest time of the year," continued the groups. "Your legislation … would help the agricultural industry operate more efficiently and recognize the needs of modern production agriculture."