The Board shall have the following duties:

To meet not less than annually, and to organize and select from among its members a chairman and such other officers as may be necessary;

To appoint from its members an executive committee whose membership shall equally reflect each of the different geographic regions in the United States in which milk is produced and importer representation on the Board, and to delegate to the committee authority to administer the terms and provisions of this subpart under the direction of the Board and within the policies determined by the Board;

To appoint or employ such persons as it may deem necessary and define the duties and determine the compensation of each;

To review all programs that promote milk and dairy products on a brand or trade name basis that have requested certification pursuant to § 1150.153, and to recommend to the Secretary whether such request should be granted;

To develop and submit to the Secretary for approval, promotion, research, and nutrition education plans or projects resulting from research or studies conducted either by the Board or others;

To solicit, among other proposals, research proposals that would increase the use of fluid milk and dairy products by the military and by persons in developing nations, and that would demonstrate the feasibility of converting surplus nonfat dry milk to casein for domestic and export use;

To prepare and submit to the Secretary for approval, budgets on a fiscal period basis of its anticipated expenses and disbursements in the administration of this subpart, including probable costs of promotion, research and nutrition education plans or projects, and also including a general description of the proposed promotion, research and nutrition education programs contemplated therein;

To maintain such books and records, which shall be available to the Secretary for inspection and audit, and prepare and submit such reports from time to time to the Secretary as the Secretary may prescribe, and to make appropriate accounting with respect to the receipt and disbursement of all funds entrusted to it;

With the approval of the Secretary, to enter into contracts or agreements with national, regional or State dairy promotion and research organizations or other organizations or entities for the development and conduct of activities authorized under §§ 1150.139 and 1150.161, and for the payment of the cost thereof with funds collected through assessments pursuant to § 1150.152. Any such contract or agreement shall provide that:

The contractors shall develop and submit to the Board a plan or project together with a budgets or budget which shall show the estimated cost to be incurred for such plan or project;

Any such plan or project shall become effective upon approval of the Secretary; and

The contracting party shall keep accurate records of all of its transactions and make periodic reports to the Board of activities conducted and an accounting for funds received and expended, and such other reports as the Secretary or the Board may require. The Secretary or employees of the Board may audit periodically the records of the contracting party;

To prepare and make public, at least annually, a report of its activities carried out and an accounting for funds received and expended;

To have an audit of its financial statements conducted by a certified public accountant in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards, at least once each fiscal period and at such other times as the Secretary may request, and to submit a copy of each such audit report to the Secretary;

To give the Secretary the same notice of meetings of the Board, committees of the Board and advisory committees as is given to such Board or committee members in order that the Secretary, or a representative of the Secretary, may attend such meetings;

To submit to the Secretary such information pursuant to this subpart as may be requested; and

To encourage the coordination of programs of promotion, research and nutrition education designed to strengthen the dairy industry's position in the marketplace and to maintain and expand:

domestic markets and domestic uses for fluid milk and dairy products produced in the United States or imported into the United States; and

foreign markets and foreign uses for fluid milk and dairy products produced in the United States.