Texas Commissioner of Agriculture

	Texas Commissioner of Agriculture
	; ; ;
	General information
Office Type:	Partisan
Office website:	Official Link
Compensation:	$140,938
2025 FY Budget:	$817,329,786
Term limits:	None
	Structure
Length of term:	4 years
Authority:	Texas Agricultural Code, Chapter 11, Section 1
Selection Method:	Elected
	Current Officeholder
	Texas Commissioner of Agriculture Sid Miller; Republican Party; Assumed office: January 1, 2015
	Elections
Next election:	2026
Last election:	2022
	Other Texas Executive Offices
	Governor • Lieutenant Governor • Secretary of State • Attorney General • Comptroller • Auditor • Education Commissioner • Agriculture Commissioner • Insurance Commissioner • Land Commissioner • Workforce Commission • Public Utility Commission • Railroad Commission

The Texas Commissioner of Agriculture is a state executive position in the Texas state government. The commissioner heads the Texas Department of Agriculture.

Current officeholder

The current Texas Commissioner of Agriculture is Sid Miller (R). Miller assumed office in 2015.

Authority

The commissioners powers, term of office, etc. are derived from Chapter 11 of the Texas Agricultural Code.

Chapter 11 Section 1:

The Department of Agriculture is under the direction of the commissioner of agriculture, who is responsible for exercising the powers and performing the duties assigned to the department by this code or other law.^[1]

Qualifications

Chapter 11 of the Texas Agricultural Code establishes the requirements for office:

Section 5, Chapter 11:

To be eligible for election as commissioner or appointment to fill a vacancy in the office of commissioner, a person must:

have been engaged, for at least five of the 10 years preceding the year in which the person is elected or appointed to the person's initial term, in the business of agriculture;
have worked, for the five-year period preceding the calendar year in which the person is elected or appointed to the person's initial term, for a state or federal agency in a position directly related to agriculture;
have owned or operated, for at least five of the 10 years preceding the year in which the person is elected or appointed to the person's initial term, farm, ranch, or timber land that qualifies for agricultural use appraisal under Subchapter C, Chapter 23, Tax Code, and be participating, in the calendar year in which the person is elected or appointed to the person's initial term, in a farm program administered by the federal Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service; or
have worked, for at least five years at any time before the calendar year in which the person is elected or appointed to the person's initial term, for the Texas Agricultural Council, an organization that is a member of the Texas Agricultural Council, or another agricultural producer association.^[1]

Elections

The commissioner of agriculture is elected to a four-year term. Elections are held in midterm election years (e.g. 2018, 2022, 2026, 2030).^[1]

2022

See also: Texas Agriculture Commissioner election, 2022

General election

General election for Texas Commissioner of Agriculture

Incumbent Sid Miller defeated Susan Hays in the general election for Texas Commissioner of Agriculture on November 8, 2022.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Sid Miller (R)	56.3	4,480,186
	Susan Hays (D)	43.7	3,473,603

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 7,953,789
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Texas Commissioner of Agriculture

Susan Hays defeated Ed Ireson in the Democratic primary for Texas Commissioner of Agriculture on March 1, 2022.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Susan Hays	82.8	814,283
	Ed Ireson	17.2	169,503

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 983,786
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Texas Commissioner of Agriculture

Incumbent Sid Miller defeated James White and Carey Counsil in the Republican primary for Texas Commissioner of Agriculture on March 1, 2022.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Sid Miller	58.5	992,330
	James White	31.1	528,434
	Carey Counsil	10.4	176,083

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,696,847
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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