The North Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture is the head of the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, as well as chairman of the Board of Agriculture. As an executive officer elected statewide, the commissioner is also a member of the Council of State.
Leonidas L. Polk was the first Commissioner when the office was established in 1877. At the time, the commissioner was appointed by the state Board of Agriculture. In 1900, the post was first elected by the people. Samuel L. Patterson of Caldwell County, North Carolina, the (appointed) incumbent, was elected.
The current commissioner, elected by the people of North Carolina in the 2004 election, is Steve Troxler. Troxler defeated the incumbent, Britt Cobb, who was appointed to the office by Governor Mike Easley after the resignation of Commissioner Meg Scott Phipps, the granddaughter of former Commissioner W. Kerr Scott.
The commissioner serves a four-year term, and there are no term limits.