Joint Finance And Ag Issues

The Governor's Working Land Initative got the green light from the state's Joint Finance Committee.  The Committee approved $12 million for the purchase of agricultural conservation easements and that the pace only occurs in areas designated in the county's farmland preservation plans.  The Committee also increased the number of agricultural enterprise areas to 15 and they also made some changes to the Farmland Preservation Program.

The Committee said no to the proposal to charge fees for the slaughtering a livestick in the state.  The fees of 14 cents for swine and cattle, 10 cents for calves and one cent for poultry was initiated to raise $700,000 for the hiring of additional meat inspectors in the state.  Instead of the fees the Committee decided to transfer funds from the Ag Chemical Clean-up fund to pay the salaries of our additional meat inspectors.  The Committee also commissioned DATCAP to meet with the stakeholders on the issue and come up with a fee formula that could be initiated by July of 2010.