Grape growers in southeastern California will pay less in fees

The US Department of Agriculture proposes lowering the fee that grape growers in southeastern California pay. This means growers will pay $0.03 per 18-pound lug of grapes instead of $0.04, saving them money on each box sold.

This small change reduces the operating costs for grape growers in a specific region. These fees fund administrative activities for the industry, so a reduction means less money for those activities or a bet that the current budget is too high. It also means the Committee believes the industry can operate with less overhead.