The state Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) has proposed changes to ATCP 10 and ATCP 12. The changes would increase fees for livestock auction markets, dealers and truckers. The public comment period starts September 11. The rulemaking process can take up to 2.5 years. Randy Romanski, Wisconsin’s Secretary of Agriculture, says there hasn’t been a fee increase since 2008-2009. The fees bring revenue to support essential services, such as animal health administration, which is currently operating at a deficit.
“The functions that are supported by this revenue are very important. These are things that our animal health staff has to be doing to make sure that we are all finding that shared goal of making sure animals are healthy and safe as they move about the state,” Romanski says. “Now, more than ever, with all of the animal health challenges that are out there, it’s important that we do continue to work together to provide those functions.”
DATCP’s proposal has raised the eyebrows of livestock yards, dealers, haulers. Equity Cooperative Livestock Sales CEO Curt Larson comments on the proposed changes. He says the only way to collect these fee increases would be to pass them on to the farmers, which, he fears, would force even more producers out of livestock.
In addition, Larson says the proposed fee increases are excessive and well beyond “ordinary and customary,” ranging from 205 percent to 1,700 percent. “The department must realize they cannot make up for the loss of shared funding simply by increasing the user fees,” he says.
