San Andreas, CA — New fee increases passed by the Board of Supervisors will likely impact farmers in Calaveras County.
The Calaveras County Farm Bureau raised those concerns to the board as it passed an array of fee increases Monday.
In particular the bureau opposed a $150 fee for registration of livestock scales. The previous fee was $20.
The increase would pay for the county´s cost of inspecting the scale.
Supervisor Tom Tryon says the board has been very supportive of agriculture and that the fees were reasonable. But then Tryon, a rancher himself, said he would no longer be registering his scale because of the increase.
Farm Bureau Manager Lorey Oliver says all the fees that farmers pay really do add up.
Cattle rancher Eloise Fischer, who owns 1,000 acres of agriculture land, says the increase is just another thing that might make farmers sell and get out of the business.
Written by Vanessa Turner.
This post was last modified on 01/31/2009 1:53 pm