DES MOINES – The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship has certified the results from the Iowa sheep assessment referendum that was held February 25 to March 15 of all eligible Iowa sheep producers.
The assessment will stay at $.10 per head after a simple majority of producers that voted did not support raising the assessment to $.25 per head.
The second question on the referendum, which would have allowed the Iowa Sheep and Wool Promotion Board, beginning in 2016, to change the assessment rate by $.05 every three years, was also defeated.
Any producer who is actively engaged within this state in the business of producing or marketing sheep or wool and who receives income from the production of sheep or wool was eligible to participate in the referendum.
In addition to the current assessment of $.10 per head on each sheep sold by a producer, there is also an assessment of $.02 per pound of wool sold by a producer which was not impacted by the referendum. The Iowa Sheep and Wool promotion board is governed by Iowa Code Chapter 182, which was initially passed in 1985 and was updated last year to allow for the referendum to increase the assessment rate.