The Virginia Soil and Water Conservation Board is continued and shall perform the functions conferred upon it in this chapter. The Board shall consist of nine nonlegislative citizen members and one ex officio member with nonvoting privileges. The Director of the Department of Conservation and Recreation or his designee shall be a nonvoting ex officio member of the Board. Three nonlegislative citizen members of the Board shall be appointed by the Governor as at-large members, of whom at least two members shall have a demonstrated interest in natural resource conservation with a background or knowledge in dam safety, soil conservation, or water quality protection. Additionally, four nonlegislative citizen members shall be farmers at the time of their appointment and two nonlegislative citizen members shall be farmers or district directors. Each of the six nonlegislative members who is a farmer or district director shall be a resident of a different one of the six geographic areas represented in the Virginia Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts and shall be appointed by the Governor from a list of two qualified nominees for each vacancy jointly submitted by the Board and the Board of Directors of the Virginia Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts in consultation with the Virginia Farm Bureau Federation and the Virginia Agribusiness Council. Nonlegislative citizen members shall be appointed for a term of four years. All appointed members shall not serve more than two consecutive full terms. Appointments to fill vacancies shall be made in the same manner as the original appointments, except that such appointments shall be for the unexpired terms only. The Board may invite the Virginia State Conservationist, Natural Resources Conservation Service, to serve as an advisory nonvoting member. The Board shall keep a record of its official actions and adopt a seal and may perform acts, hold public hearings, and adopt regulations necessary for the execution of its functions under this chapter.