(WASHINGTON, DC) USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) will increase fees charged to grain, cotton, rice, peanut and other warehouses operating under the U.S. Warehouse Act (USWA) beginning October first. AMS maintains that the fee increase is needed to cover expenses associated with the voluntary federal warehouse program, “including the maintenance of a sufficient operating reserve.” They are calling the increase a “remedial action to correct the budgetary shortfall for the administration of the program.” In a statement issued to accompany its notice, AMS explained that the user fee increase “is projected to result in stable user fees through the next several fiscal years.” The voluntary U.S. Warehouse Act, enacted in 1916, provides licensing and other services for warehouses storing and marketing agricultural products. It also provides licensing and other services to warehouses in states that do not have their own warehouse licensing programs. According to the National Grain and Feed Association, the most recent increase in operating fees came some 13 years ago while the most recent increase in licensing and inspection fees happened more than 21 years ago.