1. The council consists of one individual elected from each district established in section 4.1-02-02.

2. Each member of the council must be a participating producer.

3. The term of each elected member is four years and begins on April first. The terms must be staggered so that no more than two terms expire each year.

4. If at any time during a member's term the member ceases to possess any of the qualifications provided for in this section, the member's office is deemed vacant and the council, by majority vote, shall appoint another qualified producer for the remainder of the term.

5. An elected member of the council may not serve more than three consecutive terms. If an individual is appointed to complete a vacancy, that service is not counted as a term, for purposes of this section, unless the duration of that service exceeds one year.

6. If a district fails to elect a district representative under section 4.1-02-05 due to the unavailability of a participating producer within the district, the vacant office must be filled on an at large basis. By a majority vote of the council, the council shall appoint a participating producer from another district to represent that district until the next election. The at large participating producer appointed to represent the district may seek re-election as the district representative from the district in which the participating producer was appointed under this section.