(a) Appointment of staff

To assist the Advisory Board in the performance of its duties, the Secretary may appoint, after consultation with the chairperson of the Advisory Board—

(1) a full-time executive director who shall perform such duties as the chairperson of the Advisory Board may direct and who shall receive compensation at a rate not to exceed the rate payable for GS-18 of the General Schedule established in section 5332 of title 5; and

(2) a professional staff of not more than five full-time employees qualified in the food and agricultural sciences, of which one shall serve as the executive secretary to the Advisory Board.

(b) Additional clerical assistance and staff personnel

Terms Used In 7 USC 3127

  • Advisory Board: means the National Agricultural Research, Extension, Education, and Economics Advisory Board. See 7 USC 3103
  • agricultural research: means research in the food and agricultural sciences. See 7 USC 3103
  • cooperative extension services: means the organizations established at the land-grant colleges and universities under the Smith-Lever Act of May 8, 1914 (38 Stat. See 7 USC 3103
  • Department of Agriculture: means the United States Department of Agriculture. See 7 USC 3103
  • extension: means the informal education programs conducted in the States in cooperation with the Department of Agriculture. See 7 USC 3103
  • food and agricultural sciences: means basic, applied, and developmental research, extension, and teaching activities in food and fiber, agricultural, renewable energy and natural resources, forestry, and physical and social sciences, including activities relating to the following:

    (A) Animal health, production, and well-being. See 7 USC 3103

  • Secretary: means the Secretary of Agriculture of the United States. See 7 USC 3103
  • State: means &mdash. See 7 USC 3103

The Secretary shall provide such additional clerical assistance and staff personnel as may be required to assist the Advisory Board in carrying out its duties.

(c) Assistance of outside personnel

In formulating its recommendations to the Secretary, the Advisory Board may obtain the assistance of Department of Agriculture employees, and, to the maximum extent practicable, the assistance of employees of other Federal departments and agencies conducting related programs of agricultural research, extension, and teaching and of appropriate representatives of colleges and universities, including State agricultural experiment stations, cooperative extension services, and other non-Federal organizations conducting significant programs in the food and agricultural sciences.