(The Center Square) – With the swearing in Thursday of North Carolina Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler, the Council of State oaths are complete.
Troxler is in his sixth term, second longest active to Secretary of State Elaine Marshall, and he’ll be working with the fifth different governor of that time. The oath was administered by state Supreme Court Justice Trey Allen Paul Newby during the Southern Farm Show after being postponed by bad weather last month.
Troxler, a Republican, ended 105 consecutive years of the Democratic Party holding the office. His 20 years completed in office only trails Jim Graham (1964-2000) for length of tenure.
The now synonymous marketing slogan “Got To Be NC” was started by Troxler in 2005. More than 2,500 companies are part of the program.
Troxler is campaigning on his record of “developing new markets for North Carolina farm products, preserving working farms and protecting the state’s food supply.” When he began his tenure, the economic impact of agriculture and agribusiness industries was $59 billion. Today it is $111.1 billion annually, including $18 billion growth since 2022.
North Carolina is No. 1 nationally each in all tobacco, flu-cured tobacco, sweet potatoes, and poultry and eggs. It is No. 2 in Christmas tree sales, production of turkeys, and food-size trout sold. It is No. 3 in cucumbers and hogs, No. 4 in peanuts and broilers (chicken), and No. 5 in cotton.
About 42,500 farms are operated on 8.1 million acres.
Twenty divisions and more than 2,000 employees are within the Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services. The commissioner “directs implementation of more than 75 different laws and programs,” the website for the department says. The department is charged with protecting, maintaining and enhancing “the ability of agriculture to produce an adequate supply of food and fiber in North Carolina” and is responsible for regulatory enforcement, and promotion of health, safety and welfare of all citizens.