SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — With the 2026 corn harvest not expected to be a “bin-buster” like 2025s record crop, privately-owned and cooperative elevator grain storage capacity may be adequate to handle this year’s crops. With fuel and transportation costs soaring, however, the cost to deliver harvested crops to elevators is causing financial stress for many producers. In response, the state of Illinois is making available to farmers low-interest loans to construct on-farm grain storage facilities for the purpose of mitigating harvest transportation costs.

“Through the Illinois Finance Authority, we are providing low-interest loans to finance grain storage facilities and the equipment needed to operate them, giving farmers the flexibility to navigate the market and compete on their own terms. Our farmers need all the support we can give, and we’re doing exactly that,” said Gov. JB Pritzker.

Under the program, the Illinois Finance Authority, with offices in Mt. Vernon and Chicago, will participate in portions of loans made by private lenders, sharing lending risk and reducing the lender’s capital commitment. The program anticipates an interest rate of approximately 2 percent, according to a release from the governor’s office. 

“We appreciate Governor Pritzker’s efforts to support Illinois farmers and help them make important investments in their equipment and operations,” said Illinois Department of Agriculture Director Jerry Costello II. “Making financing more accessible for grain storage, facilities, and equipment will help farmers grow their businesses and strengthen our state’s number one industry.”

While all indications point to this year’s crop being slightly smaller than recent years, with storage capacity, grain stocks, and production distributed unevenly across the country there may still be a grain storage crunch in specific locations. This is according to the University of Illinois farmdoc team, which issued a report (“Enough Room for the Harvest? Grain Storage Pressure in the Corn Belt”) on October 7 stating that based on current production expectations, there is unlikely to be a wide-ranging storage capacity crisis in 2026. 

“However, reduced investment in new storage capacity suggests the system is being pushed harder than in the past. A future bumper crop may require severe market conditions – large differences between source and destination prices – to balance the supply and demand for grain storage space,” noted the study’s authors, Joe Janzen and Aayush Raj Dhakal, from the U of I Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics.

In addition to the pilot loan program, Pritzker issued a disaster proclamation covering all 102 Illinois counties for 30 days along with an executive order addressing rising diesel costs during harvest. The Oct. 6 directive instructed the Illinois Department of Revenue and Illinois State Police to waive state penalties when dyed diesel — diesel fuel dyed red intended for agricultural and construction use — from bulk storage is sold or used on highways and state roads through Dec. 31.

As farmers awaited the Department of Revenue’s final approval and guidance related to the waiver, the Illinois Corn Growers Association (ICGA) urged farmers to continue using taxed, on-road diesel in registered highway vehicles to avoid unknown potential penalties. Meanwhile, Soy Transportation Coalition Executive Director Mike Steenhoek cautioned farmers that it is important to note that the measures, as currently developed, are tax deferrals, not tax waivers. 

“Regarding the estimated deferral in taxes to a farmer, this obviously does not apply to previous fuel purchases in which the federal and state taxes were applied. It would apply to a farmer purchasing additional red-dyed diesel to serve both on-road and off-road needs,” said Steenhoek, in an email to STC members including those of the Illinois Soybean Association. “Let’s say a farmer will need 2,000 more gallons for on-road needs during the period of the deferral, that would amount to a farmer having a tax deferral of $1,183.20 (2,000 gallons X 59.16 cents). The federal diesel tax is 24.4 cents per gallon. The average state diesel tax is 34.76 cents. Total average taxes per gallon of diesel fuel in the U.S. is 59.16 cents.  

“So bottom line, a farmer is deferring $1,183.20 in taxes unless some government action occurs at a later date to eliminate the need to pay it back. The American Soybean Association and other state soybean organizations are encouraging federal and state leaders to ultimately waive the deferred taxes to farmers.”

Pritzker has also requested the Illinois Department of Transportation to consider extending the Illinois Harvest Permit program. If the program is extended, farmers could haul up to 10 percent more on specific routes without getting fined. Such an extension would improve the efficiency of getting the harvest to market using less diesel per bushel, according to Illinois Corn. 

“We hope that this request by Governor Pritzker is quickly implemented to help alleviate input costs for Illinois farmers,” said Mark Bunselmeyer, ICGA president and a farmer from Maroa, Ill.