Kentucky Commissioner of Agriculture


The Kentucky Commissioner of Agriculture is an elected position in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. The Commissioner of Agriculture serves as head of the Kentucky Department of Agriculture. The commissioner manages agriculture markets, rural development, and the Kentucky Proud Program. The current commissioner of agriculture is Jonathan Shell.

History

Creation

In his message to the 1875-76 Kentucky General Assembly, Governor James B. McCreary called for the creation of a Bureau of Agriculture and Statistics in order to better organize Kentucky's agricultural capacity as well as provide general statistical information. Subsequently, Representative George Washington Craddock of Franklin County filed a bill to establish the Bureau of Agriculture, Immigration, and Statistics. Following a number of amendments as well as discussions by a special committee, the bill was amended to create the Bureau of Agriculture, Horticulture, and Statistics which was to be led by a commissioner appointed by the governor for two-year terms with a set salary of $2,000. The bill received final passage, was signed into law, and took effect on March 20, 1876.

Name changes

Following the ratification of the 1891 Kentucky Constitution, the office of commissioner was made an elected constitutional office with a four-year term. The following year, the bureau was renamed to the Bureau of Agriculture, Labor, and Statistics. In 1934, the bureau's name was changed again, this time to the Department of Agriculture, Labor, and Statistics. In 1962, the department was renamed for the final time to simply the Department of Agriculture. The commissioner's title was also amended to reflect each name change as they occurred.

List of commissioners

No.ImageNameTerm of officeParty
5Nicholas McDowell1892–1896Democratic
6Lucas Moore1896–1900Republican
7Ion B. Nall1900–1904Democratic
8C. Hubert Vreeland1904–1908Democratic
9M. C. Rankin1908–1912Republican
10John W. Newman1912–1916Democratic
11Mat S. Cohen1916–1920Democratic
12William C. Hanna1920–1924Republican
13Clell Coleman1924–1928Democratic
14Newton Bright1928–1932Democratic
15Eugene Flowers1932–1936Democratic
16Garth Ferguson1936–1940Democratic
17William H. May1940–1944Democratic
18Elliott Robertson1944–1948Republican
19Harry F. Walters1948–1952Democratic
20Ben S. Adams1951–1956Democratic
21Ben J. Butler1956–1960Democratic
22Emerson Beauchamp1960–1964Democratic