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Even before Gov. Ted Strickland earlier this month proposed fee increases on agricultural activities, local cattle farmers already were looking at increased costs.

"The price I pay for slaughter fee increased from $25 per head to $50," said Dom Marchese, who raises grass-fed, organic certified cattle on his Johnston farm. "Why should I have to cover all that? I'm going to have to pass it along to the customer. Who is going to end up getting hurt by this, ultimately?"

Marchese doesn't feed grain to his cattle, so he said he doesn't have to worry about losing money due to the extremely high price of grain this summer. However, he does have to ensure he has enough hay to see his stock through the winter.

For dairy farmers, feed was at a premium earlier this year; now, said farm bureau board members, the price they can get for their milk has crashed.

"No one really knows why it crashed," said Glenn Smith, a representative on the Trumbull County Farm Bureau. "Many of the dairy men are going to have trouble meeting their bills this year."

Strickland's budget proposal includes more than 120 state fee increases. The anticipated $236 million boost would help balance the governor's two-year spending plan and offset his proposed $925 million investment in Ohio's educational system.

Still, said state Rep. Tom Letson, D-64th, no one has spoken too harshly against the proposals.

"What I'm hearing is, if farmers have to pay more for inspections at least people will know their food is safe," said Letson. He said he was meeting with representatives from the budget office and the state tax commissioner to work out how the fee increases will impact local farmers.

Many of the fees only apply if people who are filing for certain licenses don't do it on time or don't complete paperwork properly, Letson said.

"If you're filing on time and filling out the paperwork correctly, it's not going to affect you," he said.

"The jury is still out on the proposal," said Smith. This week he and others from the farm bureau met with Letson in Columbus to discuss the details of the budget proposal. Agriculture is one of the few industries in the state that hasn't seen a decline this year, Smith said.

Many farmers may look at the service fee increases as a necessary evil. Many fees apply to food processing plants, and those increases may get passed along to the customers, Smith said.

"It's early yet, and we're still trying to get a handle on how this will work out," he said.

ateutsch@tribtoday.com