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West Virginia Commissioner of Agriculture
| West Virginia Commissioner of Agriculture | |
 | |
| General information | |
| Office Type: | Partisan |
| Office website: | Official Link |
| Compensation: | $95,000 |
| 2025 FY Budget: | $71,501,465 |
| Term limits: | None |
| Structure | |
| Length of term: | 4 years |
| Authority: | West Virginia Constitution, Article VII, Section 1 |
| Selection Method: | Elected |
| Current Officeholder(s) | |
West Virginia Commissioner of Agriculture
Kent Leonhardt | |
| Elections | |
| Next election: | November 7, 2028 |
| Last election: | November 5, 2024 |
| Other West Virginia Executive Offices | |
| Governor • Lieutenant Governor • Secretary of State • Attorney General • Treasurer • Auditor • Superintendent of Education• Agriculture Commissioner • Insurance Commissioner• Natural Resources Commissioner • Secretary of Commerce • Commissioner of Labor • Public Service Commission | |
The West Virginia Commissioner of Agriculture is an elected state executive position in the West Virginia state government. The commissioner oversees the West Virginia Department of Agriculture.
Current officeholder
The current West Virginia Commissioner of Agriculture is Kent Leonhardt (R). Leonhardt assumed office in 2017.
Authority
The office of agriculture commissioner is established by Article VII of the West Virginia Constitution.
Article VII, Section 1:
| The executive department shall consist of a governor, secretary of state, auditor, treasurer, commissioner of agriculture and attorney general... |
Qualifications
Article IV, Section 4 of the West Virginia Constitution establishes the qualifications of office as such:
- a citizen entitled to vote
- a resident of West Virginia for at least the preceding five years
|
No person, except citizens entitled to vote, shall be elected or appointed to any state, county or municipal office; but the governor and judges must have attained the age of thirty, and the attorney general and senators the age of twenty-five years, at the beginning of their respective terms of service; and must have been citizens of the state for five years next preceding their election or appointment, or be citizens at the time this constitution goes into operation. |
Chapter 19, Article 1 of West Virginia Code further details the qualifications of the commissioner of agriculture:[1]
- a practical farmer
- learned in the science of agriculture
- has made agriculture his chief business for at least the 10 years preceding his election
|
The commissioner shall be a practical farmer, learned in the science of agriculture, and shall have made agriculture his chief business for a period of ten years immediately preceding his election. |
Elections
West Virginia elects agriculture commissioners in presidential election years (e.g. 2020, 2024, 2028, 2032).
According to state law, the inauguration always takes place on the first Monday after the second Wednesday of January following the election.
Term limits
West Virginia does not have term limits for the office of agriculture commissioner.
2024
General election candidates
- Kent Leonhardt (Incumbent) (Republican Party) ✔
- Deborah Stiles (Democratic Party)
= candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey
Democratic primary candidates
= candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey
Republican primary candidates
- Kent Leonhardt (Incumbent) ✔
- Joshua Higginbotham
- Roy L. Ramey
= candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey
2020
General election candidates
- Kent Leonhardt (Incumbent) (Republican Party) ✔
- Robert Beach (Democratic Party)
Democratic primary candidates
Did not make the ballot:
Republican primary candidates
- Kent Leonhardt (Incumbent) ✔
- Roy L. Ramey
Past elections
Vacancies
Details of vacancy appointments are addressed under Article VII, Section 17 of the state constitution.
If the office of the agriculture commissioner becomes vacant, it is the duty of the governor to fill the position by appointment. The appointee serves until a new commissioner is elected.
| Text of Section 17:
Vacancies in Other Executive Departments If the office of secretary of state, auditor, treasurer, commissioner of agriculture or attorney general shall become vacant by death, resignation, or otherwise, it shall be the duty of the governor to fill the same by appointment, and the appointee shall hold his office until his successor shall be elected and qualified in such manner as may be prescribed by law. The subordinate officers of the executive department and the officers of all public institutions of the state shall keep an account of all moneys received or disbursed by them, respectively, from all sources, and for every service performed, and make a semiannual report thereof to the governor under oath or affirmation; and any officer who shall wilfully make a false report shall be deemed guilty of perjury. |
Duties
The statutory duties of the commissioner are:[2]
| “ | The Commissioner of Agriculture shall perform the following duties:
|
” |
Divisions
As of January 2021, divisions within the Department of Agriculture included:[4]
- COVID-19
- Animal Health
- Cedar Lakes Conference Center
- Communications
- Executive
- Food Distribution Program
- Meat Poultry Inspection
- Plant Industries
- Regulatory and Environmental Affairs
State budget
- See also: West Virginia state budget and finances
The budget for the Department of Agriculture in Fiscal Year 2025 was $71,501,465.[5]
Compensation
- See also: Compensation of state executive officers
Article 7, Section 19 of the state constitution defines the method by which the commissioner of agriculture's compensation is set:
| The officers named in this article shall receive for their services a salary to be established by law, which shall not be increased or diminished during their official terms, and they shall not, after they shall not, after the expirations of the terms of those in office at the adoption of this amendment, receive to their own use any fees, costs, perquisites of office or other compensation, and all fees that may hereafter be payable by law, for any service performed by any officer provided for in this article of the Constitution, shall be paid in advance into the state treasury. |
Chapter 6, Article 7-2 of the West Virginia Code lays out the exact compensation for certain state officers. According to this section of the state code, the salary of the commissioner of agriculture, beginning in 2009 and for each calendar year thereafter, shall be $95,000.[6]
2023
In 2023, the officer's salary was $95,000, according to the Council of State Governments.[7]
2022
In 2022, the officer's salary was $95,000, according to the Council of State Governments.[8]
2021
In 2021, the commissioner received a salary of $95,000, according to the Council of State Governments.[9]
2020
In 2020, the commissioner received a salary of $95,000 according to the Council of State Governments.[10]
2019
In 2019, the commissioner received a salary of $95,000 according to the Council of State Governments.[11]
2018
In 2018, the commissioner received a salary of $95,000 according to the Council of State Governments.[12]
2017
In 2017, the commissioner received a salary of $95,000 according to the Council of State Governments.[13]
2016
In 2016, the commissioner received a salary of $95,000 according to the Council of State Governments.[14]
2015
In 2015, the commissioner received a salary $95,000 according to the Council of State Governments.[15]
2014
In 2014, the commissioner was paid an estimated $95,000 according to the Council of State Governments.[16]
2013
In 2013, the commissioner was paid an estimated $95,000 according to the Council of State Governments.[17]
2012
In 2012, the commissioner was paid an estimated $95,000 according to the Council of State Governments.
2010
In 2010, the commissioner was paid an estimated $95,000 according to the Council of State Governments.[18]
Historical officeholders
There have been 11 commissioners of agriculture in West Virginia since 1912. Of the 10 officeholders, six were Republicans and four were Democrats.[19]
| List of officeholders from 1912-Present | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Name | Tenure | Party | ||
| 1 | Howard E. Williams | 1912-1916 |  Republican
| ||
| 2 | James H. Stewart | 1916-1924 | Republican
| ||
| 3 | John W. Smith | 1924-1931 | Republican
| ||
| 4 | Howard M. Gore | 1931-1932 | Republican
| ||
| 5 | J. B. McLaughlin | 1932-1955 |  Democratic
| ||
| 6 | John T. Johnson | 1955-1964 | Democratic
| ||
| 7 | Gus R. Douglass | 1964-1988 | Democratic
| ||
| 8 | Cleve Benedict | 1988-1992 | Republican
| ||
| 9 | Gus R. Douglass | 1992-2012 | Democratic
| ||
| 10 | Walt Helmick | 2012-2017 | Democratic
| ||
| 11 | Kent Leonhardt | 2017 - Present | Republican
| ||
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms West Virginia Agriculture Commissioner. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
Contact information
Physical address:
1900 Kanawha Blvd., E.
Charleston, WV 25305
Phone: (304) 558-3550
Fax: (304) 558-2203
See also
| West Virginia | State Executive Elections | News and Analysis |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ '"West Virginia Code," accessed January 29, 2021
- ↑ West Virginia Code, "§19-1-4. Duties of commissioner." accessed January 29, 2021
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ West Virginia Department of Agriculture, "Home," accessed January 29, 2021
- ↑ West Virginia Legislature, "Committee Substitute for Senate Bill 200," accessed January 23, 2025
- ↑ West Virginia Code, " Retrieved June 20, 2011
- ↑ 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 28, 2022
- ↑ Council of State Governments, "The Book of the States 2020," accessed January 29, 2021
- ↑ Council of State Governments, "The Book of the States 2019," accessed January 29, 2021
- ↑ Council of State Governments, "The Book of the States 2018," accessed January 29, 2021
- ↑ Council of State Governments, "The Book of the States 2017," accessed January 29, 2021
- ↑ Council of State Governments, "Selected State Administrative Officials: Annual Salaries, 2016," accessed August 27, 2016
- ↑ Council of State Governments, "Selected State Administrative Officials: Annual Salaries, 2015," accessed August 27, 2016
- ↑ Council of State Governments, "Selected State Administrative Officials: Annual Salaries," accessed December 8, 2014
- ↑ Council of State Governments, "Table 4.11 Selected State Administrative Officials: Annual Salaries," accessed January 31, 2014
- ↑ The Council of State Governments, "The Book of States 2010 Table 4.11," accessed April 23, 2011
- ↑ West Virginia Archives & History, "Commissioner of Agriculture of West Virginia," accessed January 29, 2021
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