An agricultural marketing scheme regulating the marketing of an agricultural product by the producers thereof, other than a substitutional scheme, may be submitted to the Department for its approval by any persons who satisfy the Department that they are substantially representative of the persons who produce that product.

Subject to paragraphs (5) and (6), a substitutional scheme may be submitted to the Department for its approval by the board or boards administering the scheme or schemes revoked by the substitutional scheme.

The application of a scheme shall not be restricted to any particular part or parts of Northern Ireland.

For the purpose of satisfying itself as mentioned in paragraph (1), the Department shall have regard both to the number of persons represented and to the quantity of the agricultural product to which the scheme relates produced by them during some recent period before the scheme is submitted.

Before a substitutional scheme is submitted to the Department under paragraph (2) it shall be published in the prescribed manner to all producers registered under the scheme or schemes revoked by it.

If, within the prescribed period after it has been so published to producers registered under a scheme revoked by it, a poll on the question whether it shall be submitted to the Department is demanded by the prescribed number or the prescribed proportion, as the case may be, of the producers registered under the scheme revoked, the substitutional scheme shall not be submitted to the Department unless a poll on that question has been taken and the result thereof shows that the requisite majority of those producers has voted in favour on its submission.

In paragraphs (5) and (6) “prescribed” means, in relation to a scheme revoked by a substitutional scheme, prescribed by the scheme revoked.