248.721 County agricultural development councils. (1) Each county shall establish an agricultural development council to evaluate the needs of the local agricultural economy and to devise a plan for the county that would identify programs best suited for the agricultural development of the county. The council shall assist prospective applicants in the council's county in obtaining moneys from the agricultural development fund. Each council shall consist of nine (9) members as follows: (a) Two (2) farmers selected by the Farm Service Agency county committee; (b) Two (2) members selected by the board or boards of the soil conservation district or districts serving the county; (c) Two (2) members selected by the county extension council, one (1) of whom shall have experience in agricultural diversification; and (d) Three (3) at-large members with farm experience and familiarity with the county's agricultural development opportunities and processes selected by the six (6) members in paragraphs (a) to (c) of this subsection. (2) (a) No less than two (2) of the nine (9) members appointed to the county agricultural development council under subsection (1) of this section shall be young farmers between the ages of twenty-one (21) and forty (40). (b) At least one (1) of the nine (9) members appointed to the county agricultural development council under subsection (1) of this section shall represent a gender or race that is not represented on the council at the time of the selection. (3) (a) On July 1, 2002, and every two (2) years thereafter, members shall be appointed for two (2) year terms. Beginning on July 1, 2010, persons appointed to serve on county agricultural development councils shall be limited to two (2) consecutive two (2) year terms, but shall be eligible for appointment to additional consecutive terms after being absent from a council for a period of two (2) years between each cycle of consecutive terms. (b) Any vacancy occurring on a county agricultural development council before the expiration of the vacating member's term shall be filled within sixty (60) days by the authority or members making the original appointment, in the same manner as the original appointment was made under subsection (1) of this section. (4) Each council shall be attached to the county cooperative extension service for administrative support. (5) Each council shall receive guidance and assistance from the board as the council devises plans and assists applicants as provided in subsection (1) of this section. (6) Councils shall make applicants aware of criteria for projects set out in KRS 248.711. (7) Councils shall be responsible for developing local strategies for enhancing agricultural opportunities and assisting local farmers. (8) Each council shall utilize the resources of the Agricultural Entrepreneurship Program created in KRS 248.717, the Kentucky Small Business Development Center Network, and the Kentucky Department of Agriculture for assistance and support in aiding prospective applicants in obtaining moneys from the fund. (9) Each county council shall provide its plan to the board. If the state board recommends changes in the county plan that the council does not agree with, the council may take the plan before the subcommittee created in KRS 248.723 for discussion and possible resolution of differences. Effective: June 25, 2009 History: Amended 2009 Ky. Acts ch. 36, sec. 1, effective June 25, 2009. -- Created 2000 Ky. Acts ch. 530, sec. 11, effective April 26, 2000. Legislative Research Commission Note (11/24/2009). 2009 Ky. Acts ch. 36, sec. 2, provides: "By July 1, 2010, each county agricultural development council appointing authority set out in subsection (1)(a) to (c) of Section 1 of this Act (this statute) shall replace its longest-serving member on the council with a new appointee, provided the longest-serving member has served on the council for four or more years. By July 1, 2012, each appointing authority set out in subsection (1)(a) to (c) of Section 1 of this Act (this statute) shall replace its longest-serving member on the county council with a new appointee, provided the longest-serving member has served on the council for four or more years. If two council appointees have served the same amount of time, the appointing authority shall determine which council appointee shall leave the council. Council members who are not reappointed in 2010 or 2012 shall be eligible for reappointment two years after their departure from the council."