I. There is hereby established an agricultural lands preservation committee which shall function within the department of agriculture, markets, and food.
II. The committee shall consist of 9 voting members and 2 nonvoting members, to be appointed as follows:
(a) The commissioner of the department of agriculture, markets, and food who shall be chairman;
(b) The commissioner of the department of natural and cultural resources, or his designee;
(c) The director of the division of planning and community development, or his designee;
(d) The secretary of the agricultural advisory board;
(e) 4 members, 3 of whom are owners and operators of farms in the state, who shall be appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the council for 3 years. Of the initial appointees, one shall hold office for one year, one for 2 years and one for 3 years;
(f) One member from the New Hampshire Land Trust Coalition, appointed by the governor;
(g) The dean of the college of life sciences and agriculture of the university system of New Hampshire, or his designee, who shall serve as a nonvoting member; and
(h) The New Hampshire state conservationist of the United States Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service, or his designee, who shall serve as a nonvoting member.
III. Members of the committee who are not state employees shall be paid $25 a day, each, for such time as they are actually engaged in the work of the committee. All members shall be paid their actual expenses incurred as a result of such work and shall be paid mileage at the same rate as state employees.
IV. A majority of the voting members of the committee shall constitute a quorum.