• PIERRE, S.D. (AP) -- A state board on Wednesday approved a compromise plan to raise the fee for brand inspections that are designed to prevent theft of cattle and horses in western South Dakota.
• The Brand Board unanimously voted to increase the current 80-cent inspection fee to 90 cents a head, a move expected to keep the brand inspection program in the black for another three years. If a legislative review committee endorses the plan, the higher fee would take effect Sept. 1.
• The board had voted in March to increase the fee to $1, but the panel scrapped that plan when Gov. Dennis Daugaard urged the board to seek a compromise after livestock groups and other agricultural associations objected.
• At Wednesday's board meeting, the 10-cent increase was supported by officials of the South Dakota Cattlemen's Association, the South Dakota Stockgrowers Association, the South Dakota Farmers Union and the South Dakota Livestock Marketing Association.
• Larry Stearns, the board's executive director, said the fee increase is needed to cover the rising costs of inspections. Brand inspectors are getting the same salary increases granted to other state employees, and the cost of traveling to inspection sites has risen with higher fuel prices, he said.
• Kenny Fox, a Belle Fourche rancher, was the only person to testify against the increase, saying he believes it is premature. Fox said he believes the board will get more revenue this year because more cattle will be inspected as ranchers sell live

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