40% Turnover Possible in State Ag Commissioners

The National Association of State Departments of Agriculture says the faces of agriculture at the state level may be changing.  Following the election results on Tuesday, the possibility exists that as many as 21 of the nation’s agriculture commissioners may change.  There is a total of 54 state agricultural officials who belong to NASDA.  Those include elected and appointed commissioners, secretaries and directors of the departments of agriculture in all 50 states and four U.S. territories.  Included in the total of 54 members, 12 are in elected positions while the other 42 are in positions appointed by their state’s governor.

New commissioners were elected to office on Tuesday in Alabama, Florida, and Iowa.  Eighteen states elected new governors, including eight new governors who represent a change in the political party of their predecessors.  Those new eight governors will appoint a new chief agriculture official.

Democrats are now governors in Illinois, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico, and Wisconsin. The governorship in Alaska switched to a Republican. In an additional ten states, the new governors are members of the same party as their predecessors, so they may choose new chief ag officials or could opt to keep the current officials already in place.

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