Wisconsin Livestock Markets, Dealers And Truckers Could See Massive Fee Increases

Saturday, September 13th, 2025 -- 8:07 AM

Wisconsin livestock markets, dealers and truckers would see massive fee increases under a rule change proposed by state agriculture regulators.

According to Wisconsin Public Radio, some fees would increase by nearly 1,700 percent, and a Republican state lawmaker says the Legislature can’t block the proposed changes because of a July ruling from the Wisconsin Supreme Court. The fee increases proposed by the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, or DATCP, would affect auction barns, livestock dealers and truckers who transport animals like cows and pigs. The license fee for what the department calls “Animal Market Class A” would change from $420 to $7,430. A late fee for those markets would also increase by nearly 1,700 percent by shifting from the current price of $84 to $1,486. The registration fee paid by about 1,000 truckers transporting livestock in the state would increase 517 percent, from the current price of $60 to $370. According to the scope statement for the proposed department rule, the fees haven’t been increased since 2009 and the department “no longer has adequate revenue to recover costs.” DATCP said it has also had to reallocate funding due to “decreased federal funding” for other programs.

The fee increases would go into effect July 1, 2027, when DATCP estimates the animal market, dealer and trucker registration programs would face a deficit of more than $1.1 million.  The Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation has raised the alarm and is urging farmers, dealers, truckers and auction house owners to attend DATCP public hearings scheduled in September or submit written comments about how the new fee structure would impact their businesses. Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation Government Relations Director Jason Mugnaini told WPR the state agency is “now shifting the entire cost of the program” onto the livestock industry by way of the fee increases. 

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