(1) COMPOSITION.—The State Agricultural Advisory Council is hereby created in the department.

(a) The council shall be composed of 33 members with an alternate for each member. Members and their alternates shall be appointed by the commissioner. The dean for extension and the dean for research, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences of the University of Florida, and the Vice President for Agricultural Affairs at the University of Florida shall be nonvoting, ex officio members of the council.

(b) Membership shall include one citizen-at-large member and alternate who shall be representative of the views of the general public toward agriculture and its activities, but who is not actively engaged in any agricultural pursuit, and one member and alternate qualified to represent each of the 32 agricultural or trade interests enumerated in this section.

1. Producers or growers who are actively engaged in the agricultural areas of:

a. Apiary;

b. Aquaculture;

c. Beef cattle;

d. Citrus;

e. Commercial flowers;

f. Dairy;

g. Field crops;

h. Foliage plants;

i. Forestry;

j. Grapes;

k. Horses;

l. Ornamental horticulture;

m. Poultry;

n. Seed;

o. Swine;

p. Tobacco;

q. Tropical fruits;

r. Turfgrass;

s. Vegetables; or

t. Watermelons.

2. Persons actively engaged in the trade of:

a. Agricultural limestone;

b. Commercial feed;

c. Commercial fertilizer;

d. Commercial pesticide;

e. Food processing and canning, other than meat or citrus;

f. Independent agricultural markets;

g. Meat processing or packing;

h. Phosphate; or

i. Retail food stores.

3. Distributors of petroleum or petroleum products.

4. Growers and processors of sugarcane.

5. Licensed veterinarians.

(c) With the exception of the citizen-at-large member and alternate, each member and alternate shall be selected from no fewer than two nor more than three nominees submitted by recognized statewide organizations representing each agricultural or trade interest enumerated in this section. In the absence of nominations, the commissioner shall appoint persons who otherwise meet the qualifications for nomination and appointment to the council.

(d) Alternates shall be appointed for each member and shall serve as alternates for the remainder of the corresponding members’ terms. As terms of current members expire, members and their alternates shall be appointed for 4-year terms and shall serve until their successors are duly qualified and appointed. A vacancy shall be filled for the remainder of an unexpired term in the same manner as an initial appointment.

(e) An alternate member shall have all the rights, privileges, and powers of the member for whom he or she is the alternate when that member is absent from this council or any other council to which the member is appointed by designation of his or her position on this council.

(f) Any member of the council who fails to attend three consecutive council meetings without good cause may be removed from the council by the commissioner.

(2) POWERS AND DUTIES; MEETINGS; PROCEDURES; RECORDS.—The meetings, powers and duties, procedures, and recordkeeping of the State Agricultural Advisory Council shall be pursuant to s. 570.232.

History.—s. 1, ch. 59-54; s. 1, ch. 61-224; s. 1, ch. 63-395; s. 1, ch. 65-459; ss. 14, 35, ch. 69-106; s. 1, ch. 77-71; s. 5, ch. 77-108; s. 1, ch. 78-24; s. 1, ch. 78-196; s. 4, ch. 78-323; ss. 1, 2, ch. 80-11; ss. 1, 4, 5, ch. 81-62; s. 1, ch. 82-46; s. 2, ch. 83-265; s. 7, ch. 84-90; s. 1, ch. 85-37; ss. 2, 4, 5, ch. 87-36; s. 2, ch. 90-323; s. 5, ch. 91-429; s. 11, ch. 92-291; s. 15, ch. 93-169; s. 14, ch. 94-335; s. 892, ch. 97-103; s. 37, ch. 2011-206; s. 73, ch. 2014-150.