Idaho Brand Board seeks higher fee caps, interest retention to shore up shrinking budget

The Idaho State Brand Board asked the Idaho Senate Agricultural Committee to approve Senate Bill 1016, which would raise statutory fee caps and allow the board to retain interest on its dedicated fund to address recent budget shortfalls.

The measure was presented by Cody Berlisle, director of the Idaho Brand Board and Idaho State Brand Inspector, who told the committee Idaho is “home to more than 2,500,000 cattle” and that the state’s livestock industries are Idaho’s second-largest agricultural sector. “Last year Idaho’s brand inspectors verified ownership on 2,200,000 head of livestock,” Berlisle said, adding the board recovered and returned livestock valued at “over $250,000” and prevented “more than $600,000 of questionable ownership funds” from being wrongfully distributed.

Committee members were told the Brand Board operates as a self-governed agency housed within the Idaho State Police and runs on dedicated funds from the livestock industry. Berlisle said the board collected and processed more than $3,300,000 in assessment…