A.  The State Board of Agriculture is hereby authorized to establish and administer the Oklahoma Agriculture Enhancement and Diversification Program.

B.  The purpose of the Oklahoma Agriculture Enhancement and Diversification Program is to promote and encourage the interests of agriculture through the allocation of funds, by grant or loan, to individuals, cooperatives and other agricultural entities to provide assistance to projects dealing with the development of new or expanded uses or both new and expanded uses of agricultural products, and to increase productivity, provide added value to agricultural products and benefit the agricultural producer.

C.  The Program shall consist of the following categories:

1.  Cooperative marketing grants and loans to be available to entities or individuals wishing to work together to develop or establish production, processing or marketing of agricultural products.  The purpose of this category is to provide funding for promoting productivity, providing added value to agricultural products, stimulating and fostering agricultural diversification and encouraging processing innovations;

2.  Marketing and utilization grants and loans to be used to assist in the development or implementation of sound domestic or foreign marketing plans for Oklahoma agricultural products, by-products, or new and better uses for existing agricultural products by the financing of marketing feasibility studies, business plans, and test marketing;

3.  Farm diversification grants or loans to be used for projects dealing with the diversification of family farms or ranches to nontraditional crops, livestock, or on-farm, value-added processing of agricultural commodities; and

4.  Basic and applied research grants and loans for business creation or expansion, or research which will likely lead to a marketable product through the focusing of research efforts on uses and processing of Oklahoma agricultural products and by-products, including but not limited to:

a.    focused research which enhances the value of an agricultural product or by-product,

b.    feasibility studies,

c.    product development costs, and

d.    projects that are driven by an entrepreneur or the industry.

D.  The State Board of Agriculture, with the advice and assistance of the Oklahoma Agriculture Enhancement and Diversification Advisory Board created in Section 5 of this act, shall promulgate rules governing the Oklahoma Agriculture Enhancement and Diversification Program.

Historical Data

Added by Laws 1999, HB 1197, c. 157, § 2, eff. November 1, 1999.