1. (a) An Applicant shall be individual person of at least twenty-one (21) years of age and a legal resident of the state of Oklahoma, Oklahoma corporation or legal entity, or Oklahoma governmental subdivision.

2. (b) Eligibility may be given to those applicants whose:

   1. (1) Projects demonstrate a shared commitment for funding or in kind services from the applicant and other private or public sources, if any;
   2. (2) Industrial and nonfood production processes utilize agricultural products;
   3. (3) Food, feed, and fiber products and their uses are innovative and add to the value of agricultural products;
   4. (4) Applications demonstrate a high feasibility of job creation and return-on-investments;
   5. (5) Proposals demonstrate a high feasibility of rapid commercialization;
   6. (6) Proposals center efforts on non-urban locales;
   7. (7) Principals are individuals, a group of individuals, an individual acting on behalf of a group, or corporations which meet the criteria set forth in Section 951 of Title 18 of the Oklahoma Statutes, to market a product or formulate or implement a marketing plan for agricultural products produced or processed in Oklahoma;
   8. (8) Proposals contain the potential to create additional income for the farm unit;
   9. (9) Proposals provide for new and innovative plans for marketing the product;
   10. (10) Proposals feature research that is innovative as well as commercially feasible: or
   11. (11) Proposals create or expand viable agritourism venues.

3. (c) Eligibility may be given for new agricultural event applicants that:

   1. (1) Highlight an agricultural commodity;
   2. (2) Include an educational component;
   3. (3) Enhance the economic impact of the agricultural commodity;
   4. (4) Impact a large geographic region of the state; and
   5. (5) Are endorsed by a governmental subdivision or local Chamber of Commerce.

4. (d) Eligibility may be given for an established agricultural event applicants that:

   1. (1) Enhance the economic impact of an agricultural commodity;
   2. (2) Include an educational component;
   3. (3) Include proposals to increase participation and attendance;
   4. (4) Are endorsed by a governmental subdivision or local Chamber of Commerce; and
   5. (5) Provide supporting documents demonstrating the economic impact of prior agricultural events.

5. (e) Consideration shall not be given to applications for:

   1. (1) Research or marketing plans which do not clearly meet the stated objectives of the Oklahoma Agriculture Enhancement and Diversification Program;
   2. (2) Proposals which are aimed solely at business expansion or creation without regard to agricultural products utilization;
   3. (3) Research or marketing plans that cannot reasonably be expected to result in a viable commercial application, or that are or have been duplicated by other research efforts; or
   4. (4) Proposals for growing or any other aspect of medical marijuana.

Added at 17 Ok Reg 299, eff 11-2-99 (emergency)

Added at 17 Ok Reg 1849, eff 6-12-00

Amended at 19 Ok Reg 1252, eff 5-28-02

Amended at 26 Ok Reg 1822, eff 7-1-09

Amended at 33 Ok Reg 198, eff 11-2-15 (emergency)

Amended at 33 Ok Reg 1177, eff 9-11-16

Amended at 39 Ok Reg 805, eff 9-12-22