Source: Brian Long, NCDA&CS, 8/1/14

RALEIGH – If the General Assembly approves the state budget this weekend, the N.C. Board of Agriculture will meet by conference call at 3:30 p.m. Monday to vote on a fee schedule for forest management plans.

The plans currently are free, but the state budget being considered by the General Assembly requires fees for them. Landowners use the plans as a guide for timber harvest, reforestation and natural resource management.

The board will consider a fee schedule that includes a base fee of $45 and a per acre charge of $2 to $3, depending on the type of plan.

If the budget is not passed by Monday, the conference call will be rescheduled.

Members of the public may listen to the meeting in the Hall of Fame Room at the Agriculture Building, 2 W. Edenton St.

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