Livestock producers who use Saskatchewan community pastures will pay higher grazing fees this year.
Brand inspection fees are also going up.
The increases were announced March 2 and are among several fee increases the provincial government is implementing for the next fiscal year.
Agriculture minister Bob Bjornerud said pasture patrons had been notified of the government’s intention and face their first fee increase since the discovery BSE in 2003.
The program is supposed to operate on a break-even basis but since prices crashed in 2003 the fees had been held steady.
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“Everybody just kind of swallowed the pill and held the line on those fees,” the minister said.
“Now we’re finally seeing a little light at the end of the tunnel and they’re capable of maybe paying a little more.”
He said the ministry worked with the industry and has had no pushback on the fee hike. The government rates were lower than private sector rates.
The increase varies depending on the type and age of livestock.
The daily fee to graze a cow, for example, rises from 38 cents last year to 45 cents in 2011.
The fee for a ewe is going up just one cent to 10 cents per day.
Brand inspection fees are going up 15 cents per head to $1.80. That fee hasn’t risen since 2002.
The ministry is also hiking its access fees for sales data through the Farm Land Security Board.
The data offers comparable land sales information by searching in rural municipalities or by legal land description.
Individual search fees are rising from $8 to $20 for an online search and $35 for an offline search. Organizations that want unlimited access will pay $4,000 per year, up from $2,500.
