Section 20-3-73. Director of agricultural matters

   (a) The board of regents may add to its permanent staff the position of director of agricultural matters, such director to be selected by the board from a recommendation by the chancellor of the university system, the president of the Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, the dean and coordinator of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences of the University of Georgia, the dean of the Forestry School of the University of Georgia, and the dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine of the University of Georgia.

(b) When so selected, the director shall be responsible to the board for planning, supervising, and coordinating all matters related to agriculture in every unit of the university system.

(c) When the director is so selected, the board shall require every unit of the system having agricultural activity under its control to cause the proper and responsible officials in charge of any agricultural activity in each such unit, including, but not limited to, the teaching of agriculture, research in agriculture, and the agricultural extension forces, to report directly to the director in the formation of its program and its budget therefor before submitting the budget through channels to the board. It is the expressed wish of the General Assembly that when the agricultural program and budget are agreed upon, the budget should then not be changed at the unit level without the approval of the director. It is further the wish of the General Assembly that waste, overlapping, and duplicated efforts in the activities of all units having agricultural programs in the system be avoided wherever possible.

(d) When so selected, the director shall be required by the board to work actively with all departments of the state and federal governments in an effort to secure for the farm family of this state the best possible long-range farm program.

(e) When so selected, the director shall be required to work with proper and certified representatives of every agricultural enterprise in the state to make certain that every activity of any unit of the system actively serve the best interest of the state's whole agricultural enterprise.

Ga. L. 1960, p. 1084; Ga. L. 1995, p. 10, § 20.