(South Dakota Searchlight)- The South Dakota Brand Board will raise its ownership inspection fee for the first time in more than a decade. A South Dakota legislative committee has voted 5 to 1 to approve increasing the fee from $1 to $1.40 per animal. The fee is charged on cattle, horses and mules t hat are sold or moved from the state’s livestock inspection area, which in South Dakota is only the counties on the west side of the Missouri River. Senator Taffy Howard from Rapid City voted against the increase. https://media-cdn.socastsrm.com/wordpress/wp-content/blogs.dir/2626/files/2026/08/brand-board-howard.mp3 Brand Board Executive Director Debbie Trapp said over the past two years, the board has had to use other program funds to keep inspections going. https://media-cdn.socastsrm.com/wordpress/wp-content/blogs.dir/2626/files/2026/08/brand-board-trapp.mp3 The new fee will generate about $600,000 through next July. It will go into effect October 1, 2026. ...read more read less