Mississippi Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce
| Mississippi Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce | |
 | |
| General information | |
| Office Type: | Partisan |
| Office website: | Official Link |
| Compensation: | $90,000 |
| 2025 FY Budget: | $29,386,233 |
| Term limits: | None |
| Structure | |
| Length of term: | 4 years |
| Authority: | Mississippi Annotated Code, Title 25, Chapter |
| Selection Method: | Elected |
| Current Officeholder(s) | |
Mississippi Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce
Andy Gipson | |
| Elections | |
| Next election: | November 2, 2027 |
| Last election: | November 7, 2023 |
| Other Mississippi Executive Offices | |
| Governor • Lieutenant Governor • Secretary of State • Attorney General • Treasurer • Auditor • Superintendent of Education • Agriculture Commissioner • Insurance Commissioner • Executive Director of Environmental Quality • Executive Director of Employment Security • Public Service Commission • Transportation Commission | |
The Mississippi Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce is an elected state executive position in the Mississippi state government. The commissioner is elected to a four-year term. The Department of Agriculture and Commerce regulates and promotes state agricultural-related business and its products.[1]
Current officeholder
The current Mississippi Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce is Andy Gipson (R). Gipson assumed office in 2018.
Authority
The Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce was created by an Act of the Mississippi legislature in 1906, which also provided for the election of the first agricultural and commerce commissioner. The office's authority is established by Title 25, Chapter 43 of the Mississippi Annotated Code:[2]
|
The Commissioner of Agriculture is an officer of the executive branch of state government elected by the people pursuant to Miss. Code Ann. §69-9-1. |
Qualifications
To qualify to run for agriculture and commerce commissioner, candidates must be:[3]
- at least 25 years of age
- a qualified elector
- citizen of Mississippi for five years
Elections
Mississippi elects agriculture commissioners to four-year terms during gubernatorial election years. For Mississippi, 2015, 2019, and 2023 are all agriculture commissioner election years.
2027
There are no official candidates yet for this election.
General election
The general election will occur on November 2, 2027.
Past elections
Vacancies
Note: Ballotpedia's state executive officials project researches the constitutional or statutory text that details the process of filling vacancies for a state executive office. That information for the Mississippi Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce has not yet been added. After extensive research, we were unable to identify any relevant information on state official websites. If you have any additional information about this office for inclusion on this section and/or page, please email us.
Duties
The Department of Agriculture and Commerce says that its mission is "to regulate and promote agricultural-related businesses within the state and to promote Mississippi's products throughout both the state and the rest of the world for the benefit of all Mississippi citizens."[1]
Divisions
The Department of Agriculture and Commerce is under control of the commissioner. As of February 2021, it had eight bureaus and departments.
Agricultural & Livestock Theft Bureau
- The Agricultural & Livestock Theft Bureau works to "enforce all the laws of the State enacted for the purpose of preventing the theft of livestock, agricultural and aquacultural products and implements; to make investigations of violations thereof and to arrest persons violating same."
| Contact Agricultural Theft Bureau | |
|---|---|
| Tip line: 1-800-678-2660 Mailing address: P.O. Box 1609 / Jackson, MS 39215 | |
Board of Animal Health
- The Board of Animal Health was created by the Mississippi Legislature to "deal with all contagious and infectious diseases of animals as in the opinion of the board may be prevented, controlled, or eradicated, and with full power to make, promulgate, and enforce such rules and regulations as may be necessary to control, eradicate and prevent those diseases."
| Contact Board of Animal Health | |
|---|---|
| Phone: 601-359-1170 Mailing address: P.O. Box 3889 / Jackson, MS 39207 | |
Mississippi State Fairgrounds Complex
- The Mississippi State Fairgrounds Complex "covers over 100 acres and hosts more than 700-event days per year."
| Contact Mississippi State Fair Commission | |
|---|---|
| Phone: 601-961-4000 Mailing address: P.O. Box 892 / Jackson, MS 39205 | |
Mississippi Farmers Market
- The Mississippi Farmers Market "was created to provide facilities for the efficient handling of farm products in the interest of the farmer, consumer, general public and the State of Mississippi."
| Contact Farmers Market | |
|---|---|
| Phone: 601-354-6573 Mailing address: P.O. Box 1609 / Jackson, MS 39215 | |
Market Development
- The Market Development Division is charged with "promoting and heightening the public's awareness of Mississippi 's agriculture commodities and the farmers and ranchers who produce them."
| Contact Market Development | |
|---|---|
| Phone: 601-359-1163 Mailing address: P.O. Box 1609 / Jackson, MS 39215 | |
Bureau of Plant Industry
- The Bureau of Plant Industry was established "to protect the agricultural and horticultural interests of the state from harmful insects, diseases, and weeds." It is a regulatory and service division of the Department of Agriculture and Commerce.
| Contact Plant Industry | |
|---|---|
| Phone: 662-325-3390 Mailing address: P.O. Box 5207 / Mississippi State, MS 39762 | |
Bureau of Regulatory Services
- The Bureau of Regulatory Services was designed "to protect the health and economic welfare of all citizens, to afford a measure of economic protection which citizens cannot provide for themselves, and to strive for equity in the market place which, when realized, works to the good of all citizens of this state."
| Contact Regulatory Services | |
|---|---|
| Phone: 601-359-1111 Mailing address: P.O. Box 1609 / Jackson, MS 39215 | |
Mississippi Agriculture & Forestry Museum/ National Agricultural Aviation Museum
| Contact Mississippi Agriculture & Forestry Museum/ National Agricultural Aviation Museum | |
|---|---|
| Phone: (601) 432-4500 Address: 1150 Lakeland Drive Jackson, MS 39216 | |
State budget
- See also: Mississippi state budget and finances
The Department of Agriculture and Commerce's budget for fiscal year 2025 was $29,386,233.[4]
Compensation
- See also: Compensation of state executive officers
2023
In 2023, the officer's salary was $90,000, according to the Council of State Governments.[5]
2022
In 2022, the officer's salary was $90,000, according to the Council of State Governments.[6]
2021
In 2021, the commissioner received a salary of $90,000, according to the Council of State Governments.[7]
2020
In 2020, the commissioner received a salary of $90,000, according to the Council of State Governments.[8]
2019
In 2019, the commissioner received a salary of $90,000, according to the Council of State Governments.[9]
2018
In 2018, the commissioner received a salary of $90,000, according to the Council of State Governments.[10]
2017
In 2017, the commissioner received a salary of $90,000, according to the Council of State Governments.[11]
2016
In 2016, the commissioner received a salary of $90,000, according to the Council of State Governments.[12]
2015
In 2015, the commissioner received a salary $90,000, according to the Council of State Governments.[13]
2014
In 2014, the commissioner was paid an estimated $90,000, according to the Council of State Governments.[14]
2013
In 2013, the commissioner was paid an estimated $90,000, according to the Council of State Governments.[15]
2012
In 2012, the commissioner was paid an estimated $85,500, according to the Council of State Governments.[16]
Historical officeholders
Since 1906, Mississippi has had 7 officeholders.[17][18]
Click "show" for historical officeholders.
| Number | Name | Took office | Left office | Party |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Henry Edward Blakeslee | 1906 | 1916 | |
| 2 | Peter Parley Garner | 1916 | 1928 | |
| 3 | J.C. Holton | 1928 | 1940 | |
| 4 | Silas Edward "Si" Corley | 1940 | 1968 | |
| 5 | Jim Buck Ross | 1968 | 1996 | |
| 6 | Lester Spell | 1996 | 2012 | Republican |
| 7 | Cindy Hyde-Smith | 2012 | 2018 | Republican |
| 8 | Andrew Gipson | 2018 | Present | Republican |
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Mississippi Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
Contact information
Mississippi Department of Agriculture & Commerce
Physical address:
121 North Jefferson Street
Jackson, MS 39201
Mailing address:
P. O. Box 1609
Jackson, MS 39215
Phone: 601-359-1100 or 800-551-1830
Fax: 601-354-6290
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Mississippi Department of Agriculture & Commerce, "About MDAC," accessed February 1, 2021
- ↑ Mississippi Secretary of State, "Mississippi Law," accessed February 1, 2021
- ↑ Mississippi Secretary of State, “Qualifications and fees for Mississippi candidates,” accessed February 1, 2021
- ↑ State of Mississippi, "Budget Bulletin Fiscal Year 2025," accessed January 21, 2025
- ↑ Council of State Governments, "Book of the States 2023 Table 4.11: Selected State Administrative Officials: Annual Salaries," accessed January 21, 2025
- ↑ Council of State Governments, "Book of the States 2022 Table 4.11: Selected State Administrative Officials: Annual Salaries," provided to Ballotpedia by CSG personnel
- ↑ Issuu, "The Book of the States 2021," accessed September 22, 2022
- ↑ Council of State Governments, "Selected State Administrative Officials: Annual Salaries, 2020," accessed February 1, 2021
- ↑ Council of State Governments, "Selected State Administrative Officials: Annual Salaries, 2019," accessed February 1, 2021
- ↑ Council of State Governments, "Selected State Administrative Officials: Annual Salaries, 2018," accessed February 1, 2021
- ↑ Council of State Governments, "Selected State Administrative Officials: Annual Salaries, 2017," accessed February 1, 2021
- ↑ Council of State Governments, "Selected State Administrative Officials: Annual Salaries, 2016," accessed February 1, 2021
- ↑ Council of State Governments, "Selected State Administrative Officials: Annual Salaries, 2015," accessed February 1, 2021
- ↑ Council of State Governments, "Selected State Administrative Officials: Annual Salaries," accessed February 1, 2021
- ↑ Council of State Governments, "Table 4.11 Selected State Administrative Officials: Annual Salaries," accessed February 1, 2021
- ↑ Council of State Governments, "Table 4.11 Selected State Administrative Officials: Annual Salaries," accessed February 1, 2021
- ↑ Mississippi Encyclopedia, "Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce," accessed February 1, 2021
- ↑ Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce, "About Andy Gipson, Commissioner of Agriculture & Commerce," accessed February 1, 2021
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