The N.C. Board of Agriculture will meet at 1 p.m. Tuesday, April 20, at the Southeastern N.C. Agricultural Center in Lumberton.

The agenda includes the following items:

• Consider increasing fees for nursery certification and registration and collected-plant certificates. Fees for nursery certification would be $100 for the first acre or fraction, and $3 for each additional acre. The nursery registration fee would be $20. The increases would be the first since 1985. They would ensure that rules of the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services were consistent with legislative mandates. The new fee for collected-plant certificates would be $20 annually. The fee has not been increased since it was established in 1957.
• Consider updates to North Carolina’s avian influenza rules. The proposed rule change would require birds destined for North Carolina to be tested for avian influenza within 21 days prior to entering the state.
• Consider increasing admission prices for the N.C. State Fair by $1. If approved, gate admission would be $8 for adults and $3 for children ages 6 to 13. Children younger than 6 and adults 65 and older would still get in free. Advance ticket prices also would increase by $1, to $6 for adults and $2 for children 6-13. Advance tickets for groups of 40 or more would be $5, an increase of 25 cents. The new prices would take effect for the 2010 State Fair, which is scheduled for Oct. 14-24.

The Board of Agriculture is a policy-making body that adopts regulations for many of the programs administered by the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Its 10 members are appointed by the governor. The commissioner of agriculture serves as chairman of the board.