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Missouri ag groups favor MDA fee increases

The Missouri Department of Agriculture (MDA) says the fees it charges for some services are not enough to sustain its finances.

“We project the Plant Industries Ag Protection Fund will be unable to cash flow its needs by Fiscal Year 2020,” Emily LeRoy, Legislative Liaison for the MDA, told the Missouri House Agriculture Policy Committee.

MDA expenditures, said LeRoy, have exceeded revenue since 2012. The legislative committee is considering a bill to raise MDA fees. The extra revenue is needed for the department to maintain its services, according to Chris Chinn, Director of Agriculture for the state of Missouri.

“As technology continues to change the department needs to be able to keep up with it, so having some more funding in the department that will allow us to buy new software that more user-friendly for the end use is very important to us,” said Chinn.

Several agriculture organizations and individuals, including Casey Wasser of the Missouri Soybean Association, testified in favor the bill that raises fees.

“We definitely need to fund the department adequately so they can carry out their statutory duties,” Wasser testified. “They play a very important role in our industry and we support this bill wholeheartedly.”

There was no testimony opposing the measure. The committee is scheduled to vote on the bill Wednesday.