evidence: Costs of doing business have also increased significantly. - Printing and production costs have increased by about 17% over the past year for the nature-based curriculum MDC offers schools through its Discover Nature Schools Program, which helps more than 87,000 Missouri students each year at more than 700 schools around the state learn about and connect with Missouri outdoors. [...] - The costs to control woody cover and heavy brush on conservation areas have increased from $133 per acre in 1999 to $319 per acre in 2023. MDC worked on controlling more than 2,116 acres in 2022.