Florida Commissioner of Agriculture

Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services of Florida
Seal of the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
Incumbent Nikki Fried since January 8, 2019
Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
Term length	Four years, renewable once
Inaugural holder	Carlos Mani
Formation	1845
Website	www.freshfromflorida.com

The commissioner of agriculture and consumer services is the head of the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS). The position is elected by voters statewide and is one of four members of the Florida Cabinet. The commissioner is fourth (behind the lieutenant governor, attorney general, and chief financial officer, respectively) in the line of succession to the office of Governor of Florida. The eleventh and current commissioner is Democrat Nikki Fried, who took office on January 8, 2019.

The commissioner serves a four-year term and is limited to two consecutive terms. Although the department is largely referred to by the agriculture portion of name, the vast majority of FDACS is dedicated to consumer regulation and the protection of goods to market.

History

The Florida Constitution of 1868 created the commissioner of immigration, whose job was to encourage farmers to settle in Florida. An 1871 amendment created a commissioner of lands and immigration while eliminating the surveyor general.

The commissioner of lands and immigration became the commissioner of agriculture when the Florida Constitution was revised in 1885. The newly renamed post also included supervision of state prisons until the Division of Corrections was established in 1957.

The Agricultural Services Reorganization Act was passed in 1959 and took effect in 1961. It eliminated a number of independent bureaus and boards while transferring their duties and responsibilities to divisions under the commissioner of agriculture. The resulting divisions included administration, animal industry, chemistry, dairy industry, fruit and vegetable inspection, inspection and standards, marketing, and plant industry.

The Office of Consumer Services was established by the legislature in 1967 under the purview of the commissioner of agriculture. Two years later, it was renamed the Division of Consumer Services under the Executive Reorganization Act of 1969. The department officially became the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, and the 1927 Board of Forestry moved to the FDACS as the Division of Forestry. The FDACS was reorganized again in 1992 along 13 functional divisions.

List of Florida commissioners of agriculture

Commissioners of agriculture by party affiliation

Party		Commissioners of agriculture
Democratic		10
Republican		2

#	Name	Term of Service	Political Party
1	Lucius B. Wombwell	1888–1900	Democratic
—	Vacant	1900–1901
2	Benjamin E. McLin	1901–1912	Democratic
3	J. C. Luning	1912	Democratic
4	William Allen McRae	1912–1923	Democratic
5	Nathan Mayo	1923–1960	Democratic
6	Lee Thompson	1960–1961	Democratic
7	Doyle Conner	1961–1991	Democratic
8	Bob Crawford	1991–2001	Democratic
9	Terry L. Rhodes	2001	Democratic
10	Charles H. Bronson	2001–2011	Republican
11	Adam Putnam	2011–2019	Republican
12	Nikki Fried	2019–present	Democratic

Living former Florida commissioners of agriculture

As of January 2025, there are three living former Florida commissioners of agriculture, the oldest being Charles H. Bronson (served 2001–2011, born 1949). The most recent commissioner of agriculture to die was Bob Crawford on January 26, 2017 (served 1991–2001, born 1948).

Name	Term of office	Date of birth (and age)
Terry L. Rhodes	2001	(1956-01-01) January 1, 1956
Charles H. Bronson	2001–2011	(1949-01-01) January 1, 1949
Adam Putnam	2011–2019	(1974-07-31) July 31, 1974

• 
  Terry L. Rhodes, 2001
• 
  Charles H. Bronson, 2001–2011
• 
  Adam Putnam, 2011–2019

External links

• Official website