Hearing on bill to raise livestock brand recording fee from $25 to $50 draws support and opposition

The House Agriculture Committee held a hearing on Senate Bill 2,139, which would increase the fee to record or re-record a livestock brand from $25 to $50. Senator Dale Patton sponsored the bill; Julie Ellingson of the North Dakota Stockmen’s Association presented background and answered questions, and others from industry and advocacy groups offered both support and opposition testimony. No committee vote was recorded in the hearing portion captured here.

What supporters said: Julie Ellingson, speaking for the Stockmen’s Association, said the brand-recording program has not raised the fee in more than two decades and currently operates solely on fee revenue with no state appropriation. She said the five-year renewal cycle concentrates costs in renewal and grace years, and that rising operating costs—especially salaries and benefits for staff who process…