North Dakota Commissioner of Agriculture

	North Dakota Commissioner of Agriculture
	; ; ;
	General information
Office Type:	Partisan
Office website:	Official Link
Compensation:	$121,553
2023-25 FY Budget:	$79,974,191
Term limits:	None
	Structure
Length of term:	4 years
Authority:	North Dakota Constitution, Article V, Section 2
Selection Method:	Elected
	Current Officeholder
	North Dakota Commissioner of Agriculture Doug Goehring; Republican Party; Assumed office: April 6, 2009
	Elections
Next election:	2026
Last election:	2022
	Other North Dakota Executive Offices
	Governor • Lieutenant Governor • Secretary of State • Attorney General • Treasurer • Auditor • Superintendent of Education • Agriculture Commissioner • Insurance Commissioner • Natural Resources Commissioner • Labor Commissioner • Public Service Commission • Tax Commissioner

The North Dakota Commissioner of Agriculture is an elected state executive position in the North Dakota state government.

The commissioner is the head of the Department of Agriculture, which is responsible for serving and promoting agriculture to the benefit of the state.^[1] The department protects livestock and other domestic animals from disease, inspects farms and processing plants, regulates pesticide production, use, and disposal, and provides mediation services to farmers, creditors, and others.^[2]

The commissioner serves a four-year term and is popularly elected in the midterm elections, that is, even years that are not presidential election years.^[3]

Current officeholder

The current North Dakota Commissioner of Agriculture is Doug Goehring (R). Goehring assumed office in 2009.

Authority

The agriculture commissioner's authority is derived from Article V, Section 2 of the North Dakota Constitution.

Article V, Section 2:

The qualified electors of the state at the times and places of choosing members of the legislative assembly shall choose a governor, lieutenant governor, agriculture commissioner, attorney general, auditor, insurance commissioner, three public service commissioners, secretary of state, superintendent of public instruction, tax commissioner, and treasurer. ...^[3]

Qualifications

Article V, Section 4 of the North Dakota Constitution establishes the qualifications of the office:

To be eligible to hold an elective office established by this article, a person must be a qualified elector of this state, must be at least twenty-five years of age on the day of the election, and must have been a resident of this state for the five years preceding election to office. ...^[3]

Qualified North Dakota voter
At least 25 years old
A resident of North Dakota for at least five years preceding the election

Vacancies

Article V, Section 8 addresses vacancies in state executive offices. In the event of a vacancy, the governor appoints a successor. Once appointed, the individual serves the remainder of the unexpired term.^[3] If a vacancy occurs within 95 days before a regularly-scheduled election for the position, the office must remain vacant.^[4]

Duties

The commissioner is the head of the Department of Agriculture, which is responsible for serving and promoting agriculture to the benefit of the state.^[1] The department protects livestock and other domestic animals from disease, inspects farms and processing plants, regulates pesticide production, use, and disposal, and provides mediation services to farmers, creditors, and others.^[2] Additional duties include, but are not limited to:^[5]

Choosing the exhibits of products or resources of the state to be shown at any fair or exposition in the United States;
Certifying the state's commodities;
Maintaining a marketing bureau to gather and disseminate statistical information on agricultural marketing programs in the state;
Distributing funds to landowners for the mitigation of agricultural land affected by development; and,
Overseeing programs that provide technical assistance, support, and outreach to property owners on wind property restoration and reclamation.

Elections

North Dakota state government organizational chart

The North Dakota Commissioner of Agriculture is popularly elected every four years, in midterm election years. For North Dakota, 2022, 2026, and 2030 are all agriculture commissioner election years. The term of office is four years.^[3]

2022

See also: North Dakota Agriculture Commissioner election, 2022

General election

General election for North Dakota Commissioner of Agriculture

Incumbent Doug Goehring defeated Fintan Dooley in the general election for North Dakota Commissioner of Agriculture on November 8, 2022.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Doug Goehring (R)	75.7	177,443
	Fintan Dooley (D)	24.2	56,654
	Other/Write-in votes	0.2	408

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 234,505
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for North Dakota Commissioner of Agriculture

Fintan Dooley advanced from the Democratic primary for North Dakota Commissioner of Agriculture on June 14, 2022.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Fintan Dooley	99.7	21,161
	Other/Write-in votes	0.3	57

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 21,218
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for North Dakota Commissioner of Agriculture

Incumbent Doug Goehring advanced from the Republican primary for North Dakota Commissioner of Agriculture on June 14, 2022.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Doug Goehring	99.7	70,239
	Other/Write-in votes	0.3	238

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 70,477
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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