Section 750.10  Definitions

 

            "Act" means the Sustainable Agriculture Act (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1991, ch. 5, par. 2651 et seq., as amended by P.A. 87-998, effective January 1, 1993) [505 ILCS 135/1 et seq.].

 

            "Committee" means the Sustainable Agriculture Committee as defined in 505 ILCS 135/1-5 of the Act.

 

            "Department" means the Illinois Department of Agriculture.

 

            "Farmer" means a person actively involved in producing crops and/or livestock.

 

            "Officer" means the Chairman or Vice-Chairman of the Sustainable Agriculture Committee.

 

            "Production Agriculture" means the act of creating agricultural goods and services.

 

            "Program" means the Sustainable Agriculture Program within the Illinois Department of Agriculture.

 

            "Project" means a research, demonstration, or education project conducted by the Department or  Qualified Organization.

 

            "Qualified Organization" means an organization, educational institution, or non-profit group that can demonstrate an understanding of sustainable agriculture practices/systems and has the ability/skills to carry out the project in a timely/professional manner.

 

            "Sustainable Agriculture" means an agriculture that is economically viable, environmentally sound,  and socially acceptable.

 

Section 750.20  Purpose

 

The purpose of the Act is to create a Program within the Department to fund and strengthen developmental research programs that serve production agriculture in Illinois.  The purposes of the Program are identified in 505 ILCS 135/1-3 of the Act.

 

Section 750.30  Sustainable Agriculture Committee

 

a)         A Sustainable Agriculture Committee is established under the authority of 505 ILCS 135/1-5 of the Act effective January 9, 1990.

 

1)         This Committee shall be comprised of 1 member representing and appointed by the Governor, 1 member representing and appointed by the Board of Higher Education, 1 member representing and appointed by the Department, and 4 members appointed by the Department who are farmers actively involved in production agriculture.

 

2)         Farmer members shall be appointed based upon geographic location, production practices, and leadership abilities so as to represent the diverse interests of farmers and agricultural organizations.

 

b)         The term of office for a Committee member shall be for up to 5 years.  The term of office shall expire on January 1, 1995.  Beginning January 1, 1995 and every 5 years thereafter, new appointments will be made.  There is no limit on the number of terms a Committee member may serve.

 

c)         Vacancies on the Committee shall be filled with an appointee from the respective field affected by the vacancy as outlined in Section 750.30(a)(1) above. A vacancy shall exist when an appointee resigns from the Committee or is deemed to no longer represent the respective field from which he/she was appointed.

 

d)         The Committee shall meet at least once annually.

 

e)         Each appointed Committee member is entitled to 1 vote. A Committee member cannot vote by proxy or be represented by another person.

 

f)         Any action taken by the Committee shall require a majority vote of those members present, provided a quorum is present.

 

g)         In the event an appointed Committee member misses 3 consecutive meetings of the Committee, the chairman shall declare the position vacant and the procedure for filling vacancies shall be implemented.

 

h)         Appointed Committee members shall be entitled to actual and necessary travel expenses at the reimbursement rate approved by the State's Travel Control Board while attending meetings of the Committee.  Committee members are not entitled to receive any salary for their service on the Committee.

 

i)          The Committee shall elect a chairman and vice-chairman from its membership as officers.  Officers shall be elected at the first Committee meeting held each year.  The first Committee meeting shall be held within 60 days after January 1 each year.

 

1)         The duties of the Chairman shall be to:

 

A)        Preside at all meetings of the Committee.

 

B)        Call Committee meetings when deemed necessary or when requested by 3 or more Committee members.

 

C)        Perform all acts and duties usually required of a presiding officer.

 

2)         The duties of the vice-chairman shall be to perform the duties of the chairman in his/her absence.

 

j)          It is the duty of the Committee to seek sources of funding as outlined in 505 ILCS 135/1-5 of the Act for projects described in 505 ILCS 135/1-4 of the Act.  Funding secured by the Committee from the State or through grants or other sources shall be placed into a State trust fund as identified in 505 ILCS 135/1-5 of the Act.

 

k)         Funds obtained by the Committee shall be used by the Department:

 

1)         to pay expenses such as travel, telephone, printing, and postage of Committee members incurred while performing their duties and responsibilities;

 

2)         to provide funds for the various research, demonstration and education projects approved by the Department which address the purposes of the Act; and

 

3)         to print and disseminate information concerning projects funded by the Program.

 

Section 750.40  Guidelines for Research, Demonstration and Education Projects

 

a)         Proposals for research, demonstration and education projects shall contain the following information on Application Form SA 93-01 provided by the Department:

 

1)         name of organization, address and telephone number;

 

2)         name of organization representative or project coordinator;

 

3)         other major participants and/or cooperating agencies/organizations and their involvement in the project;

 

4)         abstract/background information of organization;

 

5)         objectives and rationale for the project;

 

6)         organizational plan of work, activities and timetable;

 

7)         approach and methods for implementing the project;

 

8)         statement of anticipated social, economic, and environmental impact; and

 

9)         itemized costs of the project.

 

b)         The Department shall solicit project applications for funding in accord with Section 750.40(c) below,  on an annual basis as funding becomes available.

 

c)         The Department shall consider each project for funding based on its objectives, cost, plan of work, cooperation with other agencies and organizations, the social, economic and environmental impacts, availability of funds, and whether it addresses the purposes as described in the Act (Prioritization Form SA 93-02).

 

d)         Request for proposals will be made available beginning July 1 of each year. The following project funding schedule will be used:

 

1)         Applications for funding must be received by the Department on or before August 31.

 

2)         Applications will be prioritized as described in Section 750.40(c) above. Qualified organizations will be notified by the Department of tentative project approval by October 1.

 

3)         Contracts signed and final funding approval given by the Department by October 31.

 

4)         Program funding begins with one half of contracted funds forwarded by the Department to grant project recipients on or about November 1.

 

5)         First progress report on projects must be received by the Department before March 1.

 

6)         Second progress report on project must be submitted to the Department before June 30.

 

7)         Final one-half of contracted funds forwarded by the Department to project recipients by June 30.

 

8)         Detailed Summary of project must be received by the Department on or before December 1.

 

e)         The Department will monitor the progress of each project, and upon its completion, consolidate the results. The results will be made available to any individual, group, or organization requesting the information.