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Agriculture Commissioner (state executive office)
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In the United States, the agriculture commissioner refers to the head of a state's agriculture department, division or agency. It is a state-level position within the executive branch of all 50 states. The title and duties of the office vary from state to state, but the general role is to oversee regulation of various facets of the agriculture industry as well as the promotion of state agribusiness. This state executive office is most commonly appointed rather than elected, with only 12 states using the ballot to select their agriculture commissioners. Besides commissioner, other titles assigned to role of state agriculture chief include "director" and "secretary," for example Iowa Secretary of Agriculture and Missouri Director of Agriculture.
This page details the method of selecting agriculture commissioners across the country, which is available by clicking here. There is also an election history detailing Ballotpedia's coverage of agriculture commissioner elections dating back to 2010. Ballotpedia also covers the U.S. Department of Agriculture through our Executive Branch portal.
| Quick facts about Agriculture Commissioners |
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Political parties
The chart below is a breakdown of the political parties pertaining to the state executive office of agriculture commissioner. The office is nonpartisan in all states where the position is appointed by the governor, which is why there are relatively few states where the party-affiliation is shown. For other state executive offices, click here.
| Office |  Democratic
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 Republican
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 Independent
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Nonpartisan | Total seats |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agriculture Commissioner | 0 | 12 | 0 | 38 | 50 |
| Counts current as of October 2025. If you see an error, please email us | |||||
Current officeholders
List of current commissioners
Elected vs. appointed
As it currently stands, there are two methods of selection used for the position of state agriculture commissioner: statewide election or gubernatorial appointment.
While the vast majority of the states that have agriculture commissioners authorize the governor to appoint an individual to the position, there are at least 12 others which have opted to hold statewide elections to determine who serves as commissioner. These states are Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, North Dakota, South Carolina, Texas and West Virginia.
Election history
2015
- See also: State executive official elections, 2015
Three states held scheduled elections for agriculture commissioner in 2015: Kentucky, Louisiana and Mississippi. Republican incumbents Michael Strain of Louisiana and Cindy Hyde-Smith of Mississippi retained their seats. Ryan Quarles (R) was elected as agriculture commissioner in Kentucky.
2014
- Main article: State executive official elections, 2014
Seven states held regularly scheduled agriculture commissioner elections in the 2014 electoral cycle: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, North Dakota, South Carolina and Texas. Republicans entered the election with all seven seats and retained these offices on November 4, 2014. Six incumbents ran for re-election and won while Sid Miller (R) replaced Todd Staples (R) in Texas.
2013
There were no agriculture commissioner elections in 2013.
2012
- Main article: State executive official elections, 2012
Two states held scheduled agriculture commissioner elections in the 2012 electoral cycle: North Carolina and West Virginia.
No party changes resulted from either election. Incumbent Steve Troxler (R) won re-election in North Carolina and Walt Helmick (D) won election in West Virginia, replacing former officeholder Gus Douglass (D).
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Agriculture Commissioner State. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- State executive offices
- State executive official elections, 2012
- State executive official elections, 2014
- State executive official elections, 2015
- National Association of State Departments of Agriculture
External links
References
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