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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 the 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.
Current officeholders
List of current agriculture commissioners
Comparison across states
The agriculture commissioner is appointed by the governor in 38 states, while elections are held for the position in the remaining 12.
